• Ava was diagnosed with not one but two cancers at the height of a COVID pandemic, putting her in a uniquely vulnerable position, plus, she continued to work while also raising her two-year-old grandson.
• In March 2020, she noticed a lump in her abdomen and was sent for a sonogram of the abdomen. When doing the sonogram, doctors also suggested a mammogram.
• She had a double diagnosis of Stage 3 ovarian cancer and breast cancer.
• She had two surgeries and two treatments in just over a year -- the plan was to have a hysterectomy first, then the chemo, then the mastectomy, then radiation.
• Today, she is doing great.
• She wants other patients to know that you can get through it.
• Ava also recommends people follow the doctor-recommended guidelines for screenings.
Dr. Lori Spoozak, gynecologic oncologist, The University of Kansas Cancer Center
• With stages of any cancer, usually the way we think about it is when it starts first in that organ, it's usually Stage 1.
• If it starts spreading to something local, it's probably Stage 2. If it spreads more remotely, then it's Stage 3.
• And then if it's widely metastatic -- spread to other major organs -- then that's usually Stage 4.
• There are many types of ovarian cancer, and because of that, not one treatment fits all. So, there's many different treatments depending on what cell type comes back from surgery or from a biopsy.
• With breast and ovarian cancer, there are overlapping pathways that are being treated with estrogen receptors and many of the same drugs are used in different ways for the two different cancers.
• Whenever we're doing treatment planning, it doesn't happen in a vacuum. It's a collaboration. First of all, we have tumor conferences or tumor boards, where everyone in the oncology service, pathologists, and radiologists who are specialized in your tumor actually come together to discuss treatments and plan together.
• There are so many different studies we are doing here, and we have access to so many new technologies and get to be part of these tremendous clinical trials that are practice changing.
• It's so much work to go through treatment. People underestimate how much work there is every single day to get through the process of treatment. I’m so proud of Ava for her courage.
