What happened, in summary

Rachel was 31 when a year of infertility led to the discovery of ovarian cancer. She had experienced bloating, increasingly painful and heavy periods, night sweats, and difficulty conceiving, but routine pelvic exams and bloodwork had previously appeared normal. In January, an internal ultrasound found a mass on her left ovary. A tumor marker she described as CEA 125 was 1800, compared with a normal value below 35.

Because the mass would also interfere with a pregnancy, her doctor moved quickly to surgery. Rachel underwent an approximately 6-hour laparoscopic operation on February 19. The tumor, which she described as about the size of a grapefruit, was removed from the left ovary. After waking from surgery, her husband told her it was cancer. She later learned the diagnosis was Stage III ovarian cancer.

The diagnosis was a major shock. Rachel had gone into surgery hoping the mass might be endometriosis and had been focused on the possibility of needing IVF. Instead, she and her family suddenly had to absorb a cancer diagnosis and the uncertainty that came with it. Her experience reinforced how easily ovarian cancer symptoms can blend into everyday gynecologic or digestive complaints.