Mary Pegg

March 2021

So, my Ovarian Cancer journey, or I should say trip thru h— and back, began in 2007. I usually associate the word “journey” with the song lyrics of Going To Take A Sentimental Journey, which sounds much more pleasant! My 40th high school reunion was looming; so in January I started watching what I ate, engaged in weight training, yoga, Zumba, and walked 3 miles every other day for 6 months.

During a routine visit in March with my GP, I told him all I was doing and that I was gaining weight instead of losing weight. I will always remember his patting me on my knee and saying, “Mary, you ARE getting older (56), and older women tend to gain their weight right around their middle.”

At the end of April, I went to my gynecologist who said, “Your spotting is probably the end of your menopause, but we’ll do a transvaginal ultrasound just to check.” (I’d gone through menopause at 52.) He said, “The ultrasound shows a spot on your ovary, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. So we will keep an eye on it.” Again my bloating was attributed to menopause and age.

May 15, I went to the reunion FAT!!!

The following spring 2008, I went to visit my daughter at Arizona State University. As I was getting ready to get to the airport, I couldn’t zip my pants. I had to lie down on the bed and suck in my gut. The TV just happened to be on a talk show where a doctor was talking about the symptoms of Ovarian Cancer which included bloating, weight gain, and spotting. I told my husband I had the symptoms of Ovarian Cancer and would see my gynecologist when I returned from Phoenix. (Was this a Godwink or Karma?)

My daughter met me at the airport, and we went right to the zoo, as it was almost closing time. So we literally ran from exhibit to exhibit. I add this as to show I was feeling healthy otherwise and had energy.

We were meeting a friend for dinner, and when I changed, my pants were so tight, I barely got them zipped. By the time we arrived at the restaurant, I had to unzip my pants to sit and then pulled my top over so that I could breathe. The food came, and I ate one bite and could not believe that I felt full. After our friend ate her meal and mine, we stood up. I looked down, and my belly had expanded, looking like a malformed medicine ball!

My friend insisted I go to the emergency room as she was certain this could not wait. The minute the ER doctor saw me he said, “I think I know what it is, but I need to get a CT scan.” And he just mentioned Ovarian Cancer. Needless to say I was shocked, when 12 hrs later he verified that it was Ovarian Cancer! He wanted to operate then, and I was in tears saying, “I need to go home to Spokane.”

I got on the next flight to Spokane with vomiting and diarrhea from the contrast. A gynecologist friend told my husband John to take me right to the hospital where a CA125 was ordered. (It was 9750; 0-30 is normal.) A procedure was started to suck the ascites out of my belly. My gynecologist, who had been keeping an eye on my ovary, was called by our gynecologist friend. He came to my room as he had been chastised by my friend; he bawled his eyes out, apologizing, “I missed it, I’m so sorry!”

I went on the internet and got more and more scared. My friend was a good friend of a wonderful gynecological oncologist in Spokane. She came in and explained that she was going to do “debulking” surgery and start me on chemo while in the hospital. In the debulking process, cancer was found all over my omentum, parts of my colon, and lymph nodes. After that explanation, my mind went into shock mode, and my husband ended up being my spokesperson.

I had two ports put in for chemo. One was at my chest, and one was right below my breast in order to deliver chemotherapy drugs directly into my abdomen. That is called intraperitoneal chemotherapy. My oncologist said she’d had good luck with intraperitoneal chemo. My doctor said she gave me the most powerful chemo because I had a fast growing cancer. I have never been so sick in my life. I even lost the weight I had originally gone to the doctor about! After one treatment I got so sick, my doctor said she would have lost me if we continued. So I stopped that treatment. I had to have hydration infusions daily.

I know that without my husband’s support, friends from California who connected me with an angel, Margie, who had survived stage 3 OC for 15 years (She called me almost daily to offer encouragement.), my gifted doctors and compassionate nurses, the countless friends who supported us with love and prayers, and the little boy next door giving me a bouquet of flowers weekly, I may not be here telling my story.

My CA125 numbers dropped to 800 after the first round of chemo, then to double digits, and finally to a 2!! That went on for 3 years, and I thought I had beaten the beast.

That’s when I went to my GP, as my back was hurting pretty intensely. I had a CT scan that showed a spot on my liver! My cancer was back!! This time, I was referred to a liver oncologist and scheduled for surgery. The surgeon told me he would do a “chemo wash.” He explained that while I was opened like a book, chemo would be poured into my abdomen, an 8 hr procedure. But I never got that procedure, as they found the cancer in my liver encapsulated; it had not spread to other organs. He closed me up in 4 hours — Happy dance for me!! I never had chemo that time.

A year later, in 2012, my CA125 was climbing, and a CT scan showed a small tumor the size of my pinky nail floating in my belly. My oncologist said, “We can keep an eye on it or start chemo.” I opted for chemo.

I have been NED (No Evidence of Disease) for ten years now! My gynecologic oncologist is very happy with me. And my family is happy with me. And I am happy….for now. Because as every cancer patient can tell you, every ache and pain is a question looming, “Is it my cancer again?”