Meet Natalie, NW Indiana,
diagnosed 2016

"Hello, my name is Natalie Atiq and I am a survivor of Gestational Trophoblastic Disease (gtd). I was diagnosed with GTD on October 26, 2016, my niece’s birthday, two weeks away from my wedding day. My oncologist said, “I’m so glad you came in because your image just lit up like a Christmas tree.” I looked over at my fiancé...it was one of the very few times that I saw him cry tears of sadness. I immediately started shaking and thought of my daughter. I started crying...what would happen to her if I were to die? Who would take care of her? I excused myself and went into another room to call my aunt.
I asked her to give my mom the news, as I couldn’t find it in me to break her heart. She had already went through the tragedy of losing my father to a fatal car accident. He was the love of her life; I couldn’t do that to her again. For some reason, we drove to Whole Foods and bought a bunch of groceries. We also got a birthday cake for my niece. Everyone rushed over to our house. Hugs. Flowers. Tears. How would I get through this? How would I hide this from my daughter, my stepson, everyone and anyone? Would I lose my hair? Was I going to be sick all the time? Was I going to shave my head? Was I going to die?
The next day, I went back to the hospital to complete important tests to make sure I wasn’t in bigger trouble than I already was. My mother and my aunt sat in the room with me, waiting. Praying. Thank God the cancer didn’t spread. But now we had to move forward with a plan of attack. My OB/GYN and oncologist were arguing about me getting a complete hysterectomy. I decided to listen to my oncologist and forgo the hysterectomy.
My mom wanted me to postpone my wedding. We were expecting 500 people! I started crying...so many thoughts flooded my mind. Meanwhile, I needed to make sure I was making the right decision in moving forward with chemotherapy (methotrexate, 5 days a week, every other week). A dear friend of mine got me in with the “chorio king” at Northwestern for a second opinion. He said that my oncologist was spot on and to trust her. I then decided to begin treatments. I also had to stop teaching, which broke my heart because I didn’t know how I was going to leave my students. I teach high school and we had just gotten to that point in the school year where we were bonding and really making strides in terms of curriculum and learning. Two of my colleagues graciously agreed to read a letter to my students. It was hard to write, and I’m sure it was even harder for everyone at school to receive the news.
Fast forward to November 13, 2016. My wedding day was a fairytale! I couldn’t have imagined a more magical, beautiful and joyous evening to get married. When I look back, I’m so glad that we didn’t decide to postpone the wedding. It was the best night of our lives and I actually felt great for having gone through my first 5 treatments.
Thankfully, I had it easy when I look at the stories of others. After going through 3 months of treatment, my HCG levels were where they needed to be. I was officially cleared on my birthday!
At the first follow up appointment, my doctor was fearing the worst when the tests came back that my HCG levels were at an 11. I knew in my heart that I had nothing to worry about and it turns out I was right because I was pregnant! Today, my husband and I have two rainbow babies. A girl and a boy. Our family is complete and our hearts are full. I especially want to thank my OB/GYN, Dr. Mitchell Krawcyck, for saving my life. If he wouldn’t have gone with his instincts, I probably wouldn’t be here today.
I want to offer prayers of peace and healing to all of my chorio sisters. We are strong and brave, we are unique and wonderful. We have each other and that is one more thing to be thankful for!"
I asked her to give my mom the news, as I couldn’t find it in me to break her heart. She had already went through the tragedy of losing my father to a fatal car accident. He was the love of her life; I couldn’t do that to her again. For some reason, we drove to Whole Foods and bought a bunch of groceries. We also got a birthday cake for my niece. Everyone rushed over to our house. Hugs. Flowers. Tears. How would I get through this? How would I hide this from my daughter, my stepson, everyone and anyone? Would I lose my hair? Was I going to be sick all the time? Was I going to shave my head? Was I going to die?
The next day, I went back to the hospital to complete important tests to make sure I wasn’t in bigger trouble than I already was. My mother and my aunt sat in the room with me, waiting. Praying. Thank God the cancer didn’t spread. But now we had to move forward with a plan of attack. My OB/GYN and oncologist were arguing about me getting a complete hysterectomy. I decided to listen to my oncologist and forgo the hysterectomy.
My mom wanted me to postpone my wedding. We were expecting 500 people! I started crying...so many thoughts flooded my mind. Meanwhile, I needed to make sure I was making the right decision in moving forward with chemotherapy (methotrexate, 5 days a week, every other week). A dear friend of mine got me in with the “chorio king” at Northwestern for a second opinion. He said that my oncologist was spot on and to trust her. I then decided to begin treatments. I also had to stop teaching, which broke my heart because I didn’t know how I was going to leave my students. I teach high school and we had just gotten to that point in the school year where we were bonding and really making strides in terms of curriculum and learning. Two of my colleagues graciously agreed to read a letter to my students. It was hard to write, and I’m sure it was even harder for everyone at school to receive the news.
Fast forward to November 13, 2016. My wedding day was a fairytale! I couldn’t have imagined a more magical, beautiful and joyous evening to get married. When I look back, I’m so glad that we didn’t decide to postpone the wedding. It was the best night of our lives and I actually felt great for having gone through my first 5 treatments.
Thankfully, I had it easy when I look at the stories of others. After going through 3 months of treatment, my HCG levels were where they needed to be. I was officially cleared on my birthday!
At the first follow up appointment, my doctor was fearing the worst when the tests came back that my HCG levels were at an 11. I knew in my heart that I had nothing to worry about and it turns out I was right because I was pregnant! Today, my husband and I have two rainbow babies. A girl and a boy. Our family is complete and our hearts are full. I especially want to thank my OB/GYN, Dr. Mitchell Krawcyck, for saving my life. If he wouldn’t have gone with his instincts, I probably wouldn’t be here today.
I want to offer prayers of peace and healing to all of my chorio sisters. We are strong and brave, we are unique and wonderful. We have each other and that is one more thing to be thankful for!"