Meet Sara, Central Pennsylvania, diagnosed July 2019
"Hello! My name is Sara. I am a wife, mama to a 5-year-old little girl, and a 3rd grade teacher from Central Pennsylvania. On July 11 of 2019, I woke up with severe pain in my abdomen. I laid back down, and tried to brush it off. It continually worsened and by the late afternoon my husband decided it was time to go to the ER. When we arrived, they did blood work and I was ready for a CT Scan, but then the nurse came in and gave us the news that I was pregnant. My husband and I were not trying for a baby so this was shocking news. I can remember crying because I was so overwhelmed. The CT was canceled and replaced with an ultrasound. I was in so much pain during the ultrasound. I knew that something couldn’t have been right. Soon after the ultrasound (my OB-GYN happened to be the OB on call) she came in and told me the news- I was experiencing an ectopic pregnancy. I was being rushed to emergency surgery because the fallopian tube had ruptured causing internal bleeding. I had the surgery and returned home late that evening.
I took two weeks to recover and it then at my two week follow-up appointment when my world came crashing down. Choriocarcinoma. I had NEVER heard of it up to this point. At this appointment, it wasn’t a definite confirmation; we were still waiting to hear back from pathology at John Hopkins University. After my surgery, the local lab noticed that my fallopian tube that was removed did not look “normal”. They sent my tube to have more extensive testing done. However, my amazing OB-GYN said that we were treating this as if it came back already. She immediately sent me for a chest x-ray and HCG level check. My chest was clear, and my HCG level was lower than it was the night I had my surgery. My OB suggested that this was good news but she still sent me for HCG blood work again later in the week. Sure enough, just like she suspected, my HCG level shot back up.
After this jump in my HCG, Dr. Shuman (my AMAZING OB at Mount Nittany Health) contacted Dr. Podczaski (my AMAZING GYN-Oncologist at UPMC Pinnacle Health) and an appointment was scheduled for the following week. At this point, we still did not have the results back from John Hopkins. My husband, mom and I made the two-hour drive to Dr. Podczaski in Mechanicsburg, PA to meet him. I was a complete mess! I have never been so nervous in all my life. All of the unknowns were so very scary. From the moment I met Dr. Podczaski, I knew that he was the right oncologist for me. I will forever be thankful for him and his amazing team. He did my HCG testing himself and there again a spike in my levels. He told my family and I that he expected the results from John Hopkins to come back as choriocarcinoma, just as Dr. Shuman expected, but he wanted to wait for confirmation. That confirmation came 5 days later on a Sunday. By Tuesday, I was scheduled for a CT Scan to see if it had spread. I had small tumors in my abdomen. By Thursday, I was heading to Mechanicsburg for my first chemotherapy treatment.
At first, Dr. Podczaski was going to treat with one drug, but by Thursday when I had blood testing done again, my HCG had doubled. He decided right then and there that I would be getting EMA-CO. I had my PICC line inserted on Friday morning and by Friday afternoon, we started my first treatment. This was on August 23, 2019. I did inpatient and outpatient treatments every other week, two hours away from my house. Even though my treatment required travel, I believe it was the best option. My mom and husband took turns during inpatient treatment. My mom took me down on Thursday evenings and stayed until Friday afternoon, and then my husband would come on Friday evenings and bring me home on Saturday evening. For outpatient treatments, my best friend Lindsay would drive me and be my chemo buddy. My team was amazing, and I honestly feel that my treatment plan, and their knowledge cut down on my treatment time.
One of hardest parts for me was not being able to start the school year with my new group of third grade kiddos. However, my elementary school co-workers and students were one of my biggest supporters during this difficult time. They had bracelets made and donated the money to my family, they would send me cards in the mail, and the community did many, many things as well. (I live in the town that I teach, as well as this is where I grew up!) Having so much support made this journey so much more bearable. I had so many people rooting for me in my corner. It was such a humbling experience. Sara was even featured on the local news!
One thing that I tried to do during treatment was keep a positive attitude, and accept this challenge with a smile on my face. I had my days that were harder than others, but I knew that this was temporary. I knew my attitude of staying positive and overcoming this was very important. Life is full of unexpected challenges that we cannot control, but we can control how we respond to challenges.
I completed my last round of EMA-CO on October 11, 2019. I officially became cancer free at the end of September, but received two additional rounds for precautions. I am still receiving monthly blood draws and I see my oncologist every other month for now. I know that my cancer treatment was a relatively short treatment time compared to many cancer patients, but I believe my treatment team had an amazing plan in place to make this time as short as possible.
If you are just starting your journey-hang in there! Know that you are AMAZING and WONDERFUL and a WARRIOR! You are so much stronger than you realize, and you’ll come out of this feeling unstoppable. I met a wonderful woman during my treatment; she had a different type of cancer, but she told me the first time I met her that I had to “have faith”, and I focused a lot on that little quote. Have faith that you’ll overcome this unexpectable challenge. Have faith you’ll be telling your story. Have faith that you can do this!
Being a cancer survivor has changed me as a person. I feel things more deeply, I focus on what I can control, and I realize that life is truly a gift. It is meant to be lived, people are meant to be loved, and memories are to be made. I love following other survivors and connecting with people who are currently receiving treatment to show them that there is life after this. This is just a chapter. It’s an important chapter, but its only part of your story.
One day you will tell your story about how you overcame that battle you went through, and God will send you the exact people who need to hear that story.
I took two weeks to recover and it then at my two week follow-up appointment when my world came crashing down. Choriocarcinoma. I had NEVER heard of it up to this point. At this appointment, it wasn’t a definite confirmation; we were still waiting to hear back from pathology at John Hopkins University. After my surgery, the local lab noticed that my fallopian tube that was removed did not look “normal”. They sent my tube to have more extensive testing done. However, my amazing OB-GYN said that we were treating this as if it came back already. She immediately sent me for a chest x-ray and HCG level check. My chest was clear, and my HCG level was lower than it was the night I had my surgery. My OB suggested that this was good news but she still sent me for HCG blood work again later in the week. Sure enough, just like she suspected, my HCG level shot back up.
After this jump in my HCG, Dr. Shuman (my AMAZING OB at Mount Nittany Health) contacted Dr. Podczaski (my AMAZING GYN-Oncologist at UPMC Pinnacle Health) and an appointment was scheduled for the following week. At this point, we still did not have the results back from John Hopkins. My husband, mom and I made the two-hour drive to Dr. Podczaski in Mechanicsburg, PA to meet him. I was a complete mess! I have never been so nervous in all my life. All of the unknowns were so very scary. From the moment I met Dr. Podczaski, I knew that he was the right oncologist for me. I will forever be thankful for him and his amazing team. He did my HCG testing himself and there again a spike in my levels. He told my family and I that he expected the results from John Hopkins to come back as choriocarcinoma, just as Dr. Shuman expected, but he wanted to wait for confirmation. That confirmation came 5 days later on a Sunday. By Tuesday, I was scheduled for a CT Scan to see if it had spread. I had small tumors in my abdomen. By Thursday, I was heading to Mechanicsburg for my first chemotherapy treatment.
At first, Dr. Podczaski was going to treat with one drug, but by Thursday when I had blood testing done again, my HCG had doubled. He decided right then and there that I would be getting EMA-CO. I had my PICC line inserted on Friday morning and by Friday afternoon, we started my first treatment. This was on August 23, 2019. I did inpatient and outpatient treatments every other week, two hours away from my house. Even though my treatment required travel, I believe it was the best option. My mom and husband took turns during inpatient treatment. My mom took me down on Thursday evenings and stayed until Friday afternoon, and then my husband would come on Friday evenings and bring me home on Saturday evening. For outpatient treatments, my best friend Lindsay would drive me and be my chemo buddy. My team was amazing, and I honestly feel that my treatment plan, and their knowledge cut down on my treatment time.
One of hardest parts for me was not being able to start the school year with my new group of third grade kiddos. However, my elementary school co-workers and students were one of my biggest supporters during this difficult time. They had bracelets made and donated the money to my family, they would send me cards in the mail, and the community did many, many things as well. (I live in the town that I teach, as well as this is where I grew up!) Having so much support made this journey so much more bearable. I had so many people rooting for me in my corner. It was such a humbling experience. Sara was even featured on the local news!
One thing that I tried to do during treatment was keep a positive attitude, and accept this challenge with a smile on my face. I had my days that were harder than others, but I knew that this was temporary. I knew my attitude of staying positive and overcoming this was very important. Life is full of unexpected challenges that we cannot control, but we can control how we respond to challenges.
I completed my last round of EMA-CO on October 11, 2019. I officially became cancer free at the end of September, but received two additional rounds for precautions. I am still receiving monthly blood draws and I see my oncologist every other month for now. I know that my cancer treatment was a relatively short treatment time compared to many cancer patients, but I believe my treatment team had an amazing plan in place to make this time as short as possible.
If you are just starting your journey-hang in there! Know that you are AMAZING and WONDERFUL and a WARRIOR! You are so much stronger than you realize, and you’ll come out of this feeling unstoppable. I met a wonderful woman during my treatment; she had a different type of cancer, but she told me the first time I met her that I had to “have faith”, and I focused a lot on that little quote. Have faith that you’ll overcome this unexpectable challenge. Have faith you’ll be telling your story. Have faith that you can do this!
Being a cancer survivor has changed me as a person. I feel things more deeply, I focus on what I can control, and I realize that life is truly a gift. It is meant to be lived, people are meant to be loved, and memories are to be made. I love following other survivors and connecting with people who are currently receiving treatment to show them that there is life after this. This is just a chapter. It’s an important chapter, but its only part of your story.
One day you will tell your story about how you overcame that battle you went through, and God will send you the exact people who need to hear that story.