
HALEY HOUSTON
“After getting engaged, I felt extreme fatigue and the sensation that my uterus was stretching. Every doctor dismissed my symptoms until I told my OB, ‘I’m not leaving until you do an ultrasound.’ The mass she found led to the revelation, two months before my wedding, that I was in the ‘end stages’ of cancer. I’ve since fought through chemo, extensive surgery, two recurrences, and am now in a second round of chemo… so it’s important to get the message out that it does happen to younger women. My best friend was diagnosed with ovarian cancer months before I was, and countless women my age contacted me after I shared my story on Instagram because they’re going through the same symptoms. I tell them, ‘You know your body best, so push for what you need.’ You’ve just got to reach for what you want. My husband and I had wanted a family, so while it’s heart-wrenching not to be able to create a tiny little human that’s a piece of both of us, a good friend offered to surrogate for us, and our baby boy is due in January. We are big advocates of using the time we have to live life now, to the fullest.”
