Meet Stephanie, diagnosed 2015, Nebraska
"2015 was a whirlwind of a year for me and my family. In March, I had an unexpected trip to the emergency room due to hemorrhaging. I was told I was likely having a miscarriage when I wasn't even to a point where I'd missed a period to have known I was pregnant. I was also on birth control and had been for several years. Fast forward to June; my now husband proposed to me in beautiful Colorado Springs! In July, we became first-time homeowners and by mid August my cycle was late a couple days, I thought maybe it was just stress but decided to take a test, and low and behold it, came back positive. I reached out to the doctor right away given what had happened just a few months ago.
We made an appointment for a few weeks down the line and told me to call if I started having issues before then. I never made it to that first prenatal appointment because I started having issues before then, and when I was examined, they didn't see a fetus; in fact, they didn't see much of anything but it was still pretty early. They sent me home and had me come back in a couple days to check my HCG which would be decreasing if this was another miscarriage. My levels were indeed rising and at a pretty alarming rate. After a few repeated tests, I was told that I needed to get a more in depth ultrasound. They thought I was having an ectopic pregnancy. I left work and called my fiancé to update him and have him meet me the specialist office.
I was not able to go home after that ultrasound until I had emergency surgery for what they thought was an ectopic pregnancy. I went to the hospital around noon and was released around 4 am the following morning. I went back to work about a week later. While at work, I received the call that the pathology had come back from my procedure. I did not have an ectopic pregnancy but in fact had a cancerous tumor that grew from the cells that would have been a placenta! WAIT! WHAT!! "How is that even possible?" I asked. The doctor continued to tell me about molar pregnancies and choriocarcinoma in which the tumor they removed tested positive for. Within 2 days I was back in the office talking about a chemotherapy plan as well as getting the test results from my MRI that showed a metastasis to my lung.
I had a picc-line placed to start treatment; however, I ended up having that picc-line removed after about 2 weeks because it caused blood clots in my arm. I went through chemo for a little under 5 months. Who knew those 5 months would play such a huge factor in my life moving foward! The first year following chemo wasn't to bad; I actually felt pretty good, but I was also still taking steroids for a while after as well. My husband and I got married almost a year to the day of my diagnosis and not only had a wedding, but a celebration of life along with our two healthy children, ages 9 and 4 at the time of my diagnosis. We had a lot of friends and family by our side. I may have been crazy to keep planning a wedding during chemo but I felt like I needed something fun to look forward to.
Life has been different for me after cancer. I have worked through a lot in the past four years emotionally and physically. One thing I am more serious about these days: taking care of myself and making that a priority. I don't feel as guilty about my 'me' time and self-care anymore, whatever that might look like in that moment. I say as guilty because I am still a mom and that mom guilt will creep up very quickly. My husband and I haven't quite made up our minds 100% yet about deciding to try to grow our family. We know we are blessed to have our two vibrant, kind boys; one which is in high school, driving now and our youngest will be turning double digits in a few months. At this point, we are just living our lives and doing what we can to enjoy the little things, to be greatful for the moments in time we have together making memories with our family, which also now includes a fur baby and a bearded dragon."
We made an appointment for a few weeks down the line and told me to call if I started having issues before then. I never made it to that first prenatal appointment because I started having issues before then, and when I was examined, they didn't see a fetus; in fact, they didn't see much of anything but it was still pretty early. They sent me home and had me come back in a couple days to check my HCG which would be decreasing if this was another miscarriage. My levels were indeed rising and at a pretty alarming rate. After a few repeated tests, I was told that I needed to get a more in depth ultrasound. They thought I was having an ectopic pregnancy. I left work and called my fiancé to update him and have him meet me the specialist office.
I was not able to go home after that ultrasound until I had emergency surgery for what they thought was an ectopic pregnancy. I went to the hospital around noon and was released around 4 am the following morning. I went back to work about a week later. While at work, I received the call that the pathology had come back from my procedure. I did not have an ectopic pregnancy but in fact had a cancerous tumor that grew from the cells that would have been a placenta! WAIT! WHAT!! "How is that even possible?" I asked. The doctor continued to tell me about molar pregnancies and choriocarcinoma in which the tumor they removed tested positive for. Within 2 days I was back in the office talking about a chemotherapy plan as well as getting the test results from my MRI that showed a metastasis to my lung.
I had a picc-line placed to start treatment; however, I ended up having that picc-line removed after about 2 weeks because it caused blood clots in my arm. I went through chemo for a little under 5 months. Who knew those 5 months would play such a huge factor in my life moving foward! The first year following chemo wasn't to bad; I actually felt pretty good, but I was also still taking steroids for a while after as well. My husband and I got married almost a year to the day of my diagnosis and not only had a wedding, but a celebration of life along with our two healthy children, ages 9 and 4 at the time of my diagnosis. We had a lot of friends and family by our side. I may have been crazy to keep planning a wedding during chemo but I felt like I needed something fun to look forward to.
Life has been different for me after cancer. I have worked through a lot in the past four years emotionally and physically. One thing I am more serious about these days: taking care of myself and making that a priority. I don't feel as guilty about my 'me' time and self-care anymore, whatever that might look like in that moment. I say as guilty because I am still a mom and that mom guilt will creep up very quickly. My husband and I haven't quite made up our minds 100% yet about deciding to try to grow our family. We know we are blessed to have our two vibrant, kind boys; one which is in high school, driving now and our youngest will be turning double digits in a few months. At this point, we are just living our lives and doing what we can to enjoy the little things, to be greatful for the moments in time we have together making memories with our family, which also now includes a fur baby and a bearded dragon."
