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September is ovarian cancer awareness month. I am mostly aware of this because my mom died of ovarian cancer when she was 67. I remember getting the life changing call in January.  I wanted to vomit. My questions came… what? When? How? Where?  I remember hoping it was breast cancer. But it came back as ovarian cancer and I then learned things about Ovarian cancer in 1997. It is difficult to detect. It is a silent killer, the symptoms are vague….. When she was diagnosed, she was at stage IV.
I taught myself the warning signs: bloated, feeling of fullness, frequent urination, fatigue. I KNEW the signs and 18 years later, I HAS  those signs. I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer 4 years ago. Here is what I realized, that list of symptoms was not what I felt. Yes, I felt tired a lot. I made a lot of trips to the bathroom, my back hurt, I felt full.  I had felt all those feelings before and each one of them I could discount.  Don’t discount those symptoms. They are sneaky. If you are peeing all the time or it hurts when you poop or If you have to lay down during the day cause you are so tired or if your back has a slow dull ache that is there all the time… dont think it is aging or stress. Don’t think you can just take some Tylenol and you will be ok. Be proactive. Get checked out. 

 

Unfortunately, a possible side effect of ovarian and other gynecological cancers is lower body lymphedema. Diagnostics, treatment and side effects can disrupt the normal route of lymphatic fluid from the legs and/or abdomen and result in  swelling of these areas that does not go away. Those with lymphedema benefit greatly from a therapy technique called complete decongestive therapy (CDT). CDT addresses skin care, manual lymphatic drainage, compression and exercise to  reduce swelling and minimize symptoms. If you think you  may have lymphedema, speak to your doctor and use this as a resource if your doctor is unfamiliar with lymphedema. 
As always, I am here to help. If you live in the Chicagoland area, please take advantage of my 1:1 treatment options. If you live outside of this area, you can still take advantage of my phone consultation or find a Certified Lymphedema Therapist in your area.
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