Sayla Hachey

April 2024

Lots has happened since I wrote my IHOW story back in 2018. The most exciting thing is that my husband and I moved to Hawaii in December of 2023. In February 2024, I had the best scan of my life! Was it the sun, was it the ocean, was it the broccoli seed pills I’d added to my oral chemo regimen? Who knows, not I, but regardless, I am grateful. I’d had several doctors try to change my treatment before I moved on to my current medical team. So, I am a big proponent of trusting your gut and getting second opinions. I still have chronic ovarian cancer, but with the help of my medication, iron infusions, and sometimes blood transfusion, I am living a somewhat normal existence. My 81-year-old mother has moved in with me, my husband, and our 4 animals in our home that is within walking distance from the beach; my dad will hopefully soon follow. I have a family, hope, love, and joy, and I feel extremely blessed to be here and to be considered stable. I don’t know what the future holds, but does anyone really know for certain what tomorrow will bring? I share my life on social media, which has given me a greater sense of purpose because I have many former strangers rooting for my survival. I am not alone, and neither are you! Stay well, everyone, and thank you for reading my story!

NOTE: Sayla has served as an Advocate Leader for Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA), a consumer reviewer for the Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Research Project, and was a speaker for OCAOSW’s Survivor Teaching Students Program.

April 2018

Ovarian cancer has taken a lot from me. Most painfully, it has taken my fertility, but ovarian cancer has also given me a mission and the resolve to share my story because if I can save just one other woman, my own experience will at least feel worthwhile.

Here’s my ovarian cancer story: My husband and I wanted to have children, so we visited our fertility doctor, who sent me to do a pap smear with my primary doctor as part of our initial testing. She said they found ovarian cancer cells on my cervix, and I would need to be seen by a gynecologist oncologist (gyn onc). We had already ordered an ultrasound. and we put in the request for a CT scan. I was in shock. I later learned that you could not be diagnosed without a biopsy. When I was back from vacation, I met with my gynecologic oncologist. He wanted to rule out cervical cancer, so we did a procedure called a cone biopsy, which confirmed I did not have cervical cancer. Next was a biopsy. When my gyn onc and his team opened me up (abdominally, from my pelvis to above my belly button), they did a biopsy and discovered I had stage IIIC low-grade serous ovarian cancer. After my recovery, it was recommended that I start chemotherapy. I learned that low-grade ovarian cancer doesn’t typically respond well to chemotherapy, so I decided to seek out a second opinion from one of the top low-grade serous ovarian cancer doctors. He let me know that some patients were having luck with Letrozole, a maintenance drug. Some patients did chemotherapy, some did partial chemotherapy, and some went straight on the drug after tumor debulking. I decided to skip chemotherapy and go straight on Letrozole. Less than six months went by before I had muscle strain pain in my abdomen and extreme fatigue. My gynecologic oncologist ordered a C125 blood test and a CT scan and did a physical exam. All three tests confirmed a recurrence. It is important to know ovarian cancer symptoms and risk factors. I had symptoms of ovarian cancer. If I had known then what I know now, I would have asked for a CT scan when I first experienced symptoms of frequent urination, fatigue, bloating, and abdominal pain. I wouldn’t have been quiet about my symptoms, nor would I have thought they were a normal part of being a woman!