The Disease That Whispers

Ovarian cancer has been described as "the disease that whispers". Looking back I heard the whispers, but I did not know what they meant. Last summer I noticed that I had a small "pot" that was hard, but I did not do anything about it. I thought that I would mention it when I had my physical in the fall. I started to notice that I "filled out" my capris, and my shorts were now tight around the waist. I was taking part in a liturgical dance and I needed to buy black dress pants that had an elastic waist; they were one size larger than I usually wore. After I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer my sisters-in-law mentioned that they had noticed my "pot", but at the time had only thought I had gained some weight.

While we were away at a cottage in Muskoka, I started to experience indigestion and bloating. I went to my family doctor when I returned from holidays. She had initially thought that I might have a blocked intestine so she put me on stool softeners and a laxative; and she arranged for me to see a bowel specialist. The earliest appointment was in September. In the meantime my doctor ordered a chest x-ray and two ultrasounds, abdominal and internal. I could just walk-in for a chest x-ray, but I needed to book an appointment for the ultrasounds, which would be the next week. Originally I was going to have the x-ray at the same time as the ultrasounds, but I was becoming more uncomfortable so I decided to have the x-ray later that week.

I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable as my abdomen increased in size. My husband took me to Emergency because we did not feel that I could wait for the appointment with the bowel specialist the following Monday. I thought that the attending doctor was rather "misogynistic" in his approach to dealing with me. He suggested that maybe I was pregnant and did not know it. When it was discovered that I had had ultrasounds earlier in the week, the staff were able to obtain the results, which recommended that I have a CAT scan. I asked if I could have the CAT scan that day, but the doctor said I needed to go through my family doctor. He said that he would only order a CAT scan if my appendix had burst.

On the Monday my husband and I drove to Orillia, which is about an hour north of us. The bowel specialist told us that after looking at my ultrasounds I did not need his care as it was not a blocked intestine. We shared about our experience at Southlake and the recommendation for me to get a CAT scan. The doctor informed us that he was chief of staff at the Orillia hospital and he would personally arrange for me to have a CAT scan that day. He said he would also arrange to have the results immediately so he could personally direct us to the correct specialist. Finally we were getting somewhere!

To be continued...

http://www.ovariancanada.org/