I was perplexed about the diagnosis of bladder infection. I’m a widow and began to analyze my symptoms. Months earlier I had developed the problem of having watery bowels. This only occurred around 2 am in the mornings, but in the morning and rest of the day all my bodily functions were normal. I had learned to cope with it, bed and body protection, etc. But I was despaired about the thought of never being able to take a cruise, or spend the night at a motel or with a friend/relative. Since the bladder infection seemed difficult to eradicate, I decided the contributing factor was the watery bowels.

When the doctor was consulted about the problem, an answer was not given to me. But the urologist ordered radiology which gave negative results for cancer.

At first I thought chocolate might be the culprit.
I decided to begin eliminating chocolate from daily consumption as well as green tea.

Further tests by the urologist confirmed that an infection still existed. More antibiotics were given including cystoscopy of the bladder. Upon hearing my medical history, my doctor also wanted to follow with a CT scan of abdomen and pelvis.
An alarm sounded with the doctor upon hearing that my only sister had died three years earlier from pancreatic cancer. Thus, the doctor ordered the scan to include pictures of the pancreas.

The results were that my pancreas had lesions. The Doctor decided that the next step would be for a referral to a gastroenterologist.

Although I had a colonoscopy five years earlier, the Gastroenterologist/Surgeon decided that another was needed because of the bowel complaint. Only one Polyp was removed and no cancer was found. But there was still concern about the pancreas and a referral was made to another surgeon.
An MRI was ordered by the surgeon and again there was concern about the pancreatic cysts.

As of this time, the doctors could not definitively define that I did not have pancreatic cancer. Thus, in order to get a biopsy of the pancreas, the surgeon made an appointment for me to see a Gastroenterologist at the Willis-Knighton Medical Center in Shreveport, LA. I was informed that there were only three hospitals in the surrounding cities that had the equipment to do the biopsy, that were Houston, TX, New Orleans and Shreveport, LA. I chose Shreveport because I was of the opinion the trip would be less of a strain on me as well as my friends and my son who has his own health problems.

One-day surgery at Willis-Knighton was the site of the Pancreatic Biopsy. All went well but during the procedure the Doctor found that the gall bladder with stones required removal. Another surgeon was called in who verified I needed gall bladder surgery right away. He stated that it was the problem with my pancreas that if not removed, I would end up with pancreatitis and even cancer.

So preparation for the surgery required an overnight stay at a motel in Shreveport. The surgery went well but then came the big surprise. My surgeon said that when he got inside of me, he found a bunch of nodules/implants scattered around like he had never seen before in his life. This Doctor had years of surgical experience and was 67 years old. Although I had cancer of the cervix at an early age with removal of the uterus in 1967, that surgeon decided my ovaries should remain because of my young age.

Again all went well during and after the surgery. At my follow-up checkup with the surgeon, he broke the news that he had done biopsies of the nodules and that he was making appointments for me to see a GYN oncology surgeon and an Oncologist.

All the time for a laugh, I had been sharing with friends and family, how, after my checkup in January, doctors, after many tests, were determined to find something wrong me. I had prepared myself to hear that although my abdomen had a bizarre appearance inside, that the biopsy would be negative.
Again, another trip to Shreveport was required.

Not so, the Oncologist walked into the room and after exchange of greetings, stated that I had ovarian cancer; that I would have about a 20% survival rate, and with surgery would have 2 – 3 years to live. He inquired if I smoked to which I replied, "Never and I don't." He then commented that one thing in my favor was that I appeared to be in good health.

Then he brought up the interesting fact that hereditary cancer syndromes have been found in recent years. He said that mutations known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 can cause ovarian cancer in women as well as breast cancer. For families at risk he said that daughters and granddaughters should be tested for such gene.

Then I received a double whammy. The doctor who did the pancreatic biopsy called me that my pancreas also contained cancer cells and that it too would require surgery.

Follow-up visit with the doctor rendered a diagnosis of carcinomatosis with exploratory laparotomy scheduled.

During three month checkup in the summer of 2011, the oncologist said that because of the coincidence of
family members having cancer - the sister's pancreatic cancer resulting in death and the son with lung cancer,
he wanted to pursue testing me for the BRCA gene. He said the test considered to be expensive, about $3000. was justified in my case.

I have to conclude that because of the pancreatic cancer history in the family, I am thankful my referral doctors were relentless in testing for cancer. Now that cancer is definitely in the picture, I look to the future as another challenge in life. A long time ago, I learned there are good days and bad days. Now I’m living OK days by doing what is best for my emotions and my well-being.