Cancer Stories

The Year that Took my Breath Away

September 12th, 2006

On October 10th of the year 2004, my Aunt Dianne went into the hospital to have surgery on what the doctors were calling a fibroid tumor on her ovary. When she went in for surgery and they opened her up, they found that she had stage four Ovarian Cancer. There wasnt anything they could do as far as surgery went because the tumor was attached to some major organs. My mother and my Aunt had promised on another years ago, that if either one ever got really sick, they wouldnt do chemo and whatnot. Well, that was before my Auntie had two sons. She tried. She went through the chemo four times. It was having no effect, she just kept getting sicker, she couldnt go to the bathroom, she couldnt eat…. Things got really bad, really fast. In December of 2004, she was hospitalized because she was so sick and they had to give her tube feedings. I went to see her on Christmas, and it was the hardest thing I have ever done. She didnt even know who I was, the cancer had invaded her brain. She tried, she fought with all she had in her, but on January 2, 2005, my poor sweet Auntie passed away, at home with her brothers, sisters, and youngest son holding her hand. This isnt the end. One month later, on February 11, 2005, my Aunt Debbie wasnt feeling well. Her stomach was hurting and she went to the doctor. They did all sorts of blood work and an ultrasound and found that she as well has ovarian cancer. stage 3…. My aunt debbie is a fighter. She went through chemo for a few months and went into remission!!! All was looking well, until around July, when I myself started to feel really lousy. I couldnt sit down because it caused severe pain, I couldnt make love to my fiance because it felt like a knife was tearing away at my insides, so I went to the doctor. I had a smear and it came back extremley abnormal, so I then went in for a colposcopy. When the results came back from the biopsy, my heart hit the floor. I had CIS(Carcinoma that has not invaded the deeper epithelial tissue). I was so scared. It took me a few months to find a doctor that I was comfortable with seeing as how I was having surgery on my reproductive system. In October of 05, I went in for surgery and it was a success. I have now been cancer free for a little under a year. I feel in my heart, that my Auntie Dianne got sick to save us. To spare me and my aunt , to teach us that if there is pain, dont ignore it because something may really be wrong. If it wasnt for her, I would have kept dismissing the pain as gas or whatnot, until it was too late. Out of death, comes new life……. Thank you Auntie Dianne, for opening our eyes and our minds. We love you and miss you deeply.. This was my story…

Janelle Liss

Entry Filed under: Survival Stories