Becki McCall

July 2015

A year and a half ago was an exciting time for me because I was going to turn 50. To celebrate, I decided to run an ultramarathon. An ultramarathon is any distance over the length of a marathon. To make it easier, I chose the shortest ultra distance I could find: a 50k (just over 31 miles).

I did my long training runs in preparation and didn’t sustain any injuries. However, some odd things were going on with my body which hadn’t happened during training sessions for previous long distance races I’d run. For example, normally when I do long runs, I’m pretty hungry afterward and eat with enthusiasm to refuel. This time around, I just wasn’t as hungry. Even though I wasn’t able to eat very much, my waist started looking distended and I was feeling constipated. Hmmm.

The actual 50k event was pretty tough. After running the 30+ miles of the race, my body wasn’t hungry. Again, this was unusual but I didn’t pay too much attention. At work the next day, I was a little freaked out by my distended abdominal area. I had some coworkers wrap my torso in ACE wrap to compress my middle section. My nursing scrubs covered me up so that my mummified middle was not apparent.

By this point I realized that something was not quite right. I asked myself, “Self—do you have irritable bowel disease? Diverticulitis? Should you be trying to diagnose yourself? Should you make an appointment with a professional? Which professional?” Okay, I admit: I’m good with other people’s health situations, but not my own. I’m a nurse at OHSU so it would be reasonable to expect that I would reach out to any of the providers at work for some advice. But, I hadn’t been for a check-up in a couple of years and didn’t really know with whom to talk.

Fortunately I was already scheduled to see a surgeon about an umbilical hernia (this was unrelated to my other current symptoms) that had started becoming painful. This appointment was to meet the surgeon, chat and schedule the surgery.

I went in for my appointment and started telling the surgeon about the other signs/symptoms that were going on: abdominal distention, feeling full, feeling constipated. Being the savvy physician that she is, she ordered a CT scan which I completed after my appointment with her. Late that afternoon, I got a call at home from her. “Is there a place you can talk without being disturbed? Looking at the CT scan, you have a tumor…. I’ve put in a referral with a gynecologic oncologist.”

After telling my husband and my folks about this news, I went to work the following day. My brain was numb. During a break, I tried to schedule with the doctor to whom I was referred. Unfortunately, I was going to have wait three weeks to get in, which seemed like an eternity. I shared that info with my husband. Twenty minutes later, there was a call for me at the nurses’ station. Thanks to the advocacy of my husband and a friend, I had an appointment that afternoon with another gyn onc.

Surgery took place the next week with the “-ectomies” often associated with ovarian cancer: hysterectomy, salpingo-oophorectomy, omenectomy, appendectomy, plus tumor debulking and IP port placement.

While recovering in the hospital from the surgery, my husband and I shared the news of my ovarian cancer with our daughters who were 11 and 14. After staging the cancer as IIIc, a chemo plan was made. With the help and support of family, friends and coworkers, I finished chemo in February 2014. I’ve had no evidence of disease since. After an eight month hiatus from work, I’m back and loving it. It’s better than being the patient!

My daughters have asked about the likelihood of them getting ovarian cancer. Their questions prompted me to say yes to genetic testing. It was discovered that I have a mutation in the BRCA1 gene. After appointments with various doctors, I chose to have a mastectomy with reconstruction.

One healthy additive to my life, since being diagnosed with cancer, is juicing. I love to take a bunch of plants and throw them in the juicer. The first one I tried was not delicious, but my taste buds have adjusted and now I really enjoy them.

As an ovarian cancer survivor, I have gotten involved in the Survivors Teaching Students® (STS) program. Through STS, I met Diane O’Connor (founder of the Ovarian Cancer Alliance of Oregon and SW Washington) and other survivors, all of whom I find inspirational.

I particularly enjoy reading the stories of other women who have ovarian cancer; those who have recurrent ovarian cancer and share their stories are amazing. Their stories make me laugh and cry, but above all make me think that is important to stay connected, keep talking and have hope.

Editor’s Note: Although somewhat new to nursing, Becki loves her job as a bedside nurse working 12-hour shifts. She credits the others at work as amazing (nurses, CNA’s, managers, doctors, PT’s, OT’s, housekeeping staff, etc). Besides work, which she gets to from SE Portland via bike and tram, Becki loves to travel to destinations like Wallowa Lake, Hawaii and Italy (this fall). She enjoys being outside gardening, walking the dog, running, hiking, and camping with the family.

She is in training currently as a volunteer at Hopewell House, a hospice facility in the Hillsdale neighborhood of Portland.