Survivors Teaching Students®

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.”

These words of Hayley”s were her story up to 2019.  It is with a heavy heart that we said goodbye to Hayley, in the summer of 2023.  She leaves behind a loving husband and lovely 5 year old son.  Hayley spent her last months, after it was clear that her latest battle with cancer would be her last, making the most of the time she had left with her family and creating and leaving great memories for her young family.  She and her husband also wanted to document this final journey, to help others who may some day need to know what to expect.  You can see these memories that Hayley and Taylor shared with the world, here.  May the Odlozil family find strength and peace in these memories.  Judy’s Mission extends our sincerest gratitude for all that Hayley and her family have done to help increase awareness and hopefully move us closer to our mission to improve early detection and survival of ovarian cancer.

DR. NEFERTITI DUPONT

“When Angelina Jolie came out and told the world about her mother’s ovarian cancer and her positive test for the BRCA gene in 2013, the phones at my office we’re ringing off the hook. I’m a gynecologic oncologist, and usually it’s hard to motivate women to get tested for the gene mutation that causes OC…but that just goes to show you the power of awareness. It’s a subtle disease, and the symptoms are so vague that most women simply don’t have the knowledge to put 2 and 2 together. We do everything we can to help women catch the disease early – before stage 4 – in order to give them a fighting chance. I tell my patients to take things one day at a time, but when it comes to raising awareness on a large scale, we need to think farther ahead. We can end this thing once and for all someday. A lot of amazing progress has been made recently, and there are new drugs and treatments today that weren’t available 5 years ago. The growth of genetics is also a new frontier that’s helping us figure out how to prevent the disease. But none of this is a quick fix; we just need to talk about it more, plain and simple.”

STEPHANIE PARKE, D.D.S

“Being diagnosed with ovarian cancer is scary; it’s really scary. The disease is both oppressive and aggressive. I was diagnosed in stage 4 and had 18 chemo treatments before finally beating it. I’m a 5-year survivor now – and I’m so grateful for that – but what no one tells you is that in a way, being a survivor is just as hard as being in the midst of your fight. When it’s happening, you don’t want to admit weakness. You want to say ‘I’m strong. I’m fighting this. I’m beating this.’ There’s a ton of support, and you’re so focused on treatment and recovery…then once it’s over, things can become lonely and emotionally taxing. You go from being healthy to being a cancer patient to being a survivor so fast, and all those transitions can be hard. Throughout treatment, I tried to keep life as normal as possible and just be ‘Mom’ for my kids. I even kept working. I’d be at work Monday, in chemo Tuesday, and back at work Wednesday. I did that for 18 weeks. But deciding to get a therapist helped me a lot. I think we need to talk about therapy more, and encourage people going through OC to explore it.”

MIKE LUMAN

“We were just a happy family of four with two small children in 2007 when my wife Julie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Her mother had died of breast cancer when Julie was 10, so Julie was religious about getting her yearly mammogram… but we never knew about the BRCA genetic link between breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Before her diagnosis, Julie knew something was wrong, though her gynecologist assured her she was ok. She persevered and saw a general physician who ordered the scan that revealed advanced cancer. We went from Girl Scouts and Little League to surgery and extensive chemotherapy, and Julie’s cancer would retreat and return, eventually seven times – yet Julie remained positive. She didn’t consider herself to be fighting cancer, because, to her, fights had winners and losers. Near the end she’d say, ‘I didn’t lose. I’m living exactly the life God laid out for me, and I’ve gained a lot.’ She expected three to five years, but got ten. She wanted to see her kids through elementary school, but saw them to high school. She lived by a saying: “This is the day,” looking at each one as a gift. Julie taught me that time is fleeting and not to waste any moments.”

LEILANI HURLES

“I went from having everything to thinking I was going to die. I’ve been very fortunate in my life, but ovarian cancer is God’s way of just knocking you down and making you reassess things. I was diagnosed in ’09 and have had 1 recurrence. Doctors have removed a tumor the size of my fist, my stomach lining, 8 inches of colon, and 13 lymph nodes. I’ve had 4 transfusions and 15 rounds of chemo. I’ve been through it all, but I’ve never been alone. My daughter was such an encouraging presence. After my surgery, she said ‘You are not a wuss. You’re going to do whatever you need to do, and you’re going to get out of here.’ I remember we’d stay up late during my treatment watching these stupid 1960s game shows on TV and just laugh all the way through them. Little bits of encouragement can mean so much, which is why I started blogging my experiences. I even published 2 books – “Ride, Baby, Ride!” and “They’re Pistols, and They’re Loaded!” – based on my blogs. I had promised God that if he got me through this, I’d do everything I could to inspire others to never give up.”

MISTY WORRELL

“This may sound crazy, but ovarian cancer has brought me more blessings than negatives. Before I was diagnosed, I was only ever in the hospital to have my kids. I had gotten debilitating blood clots in my legs and bounced around many specialists who couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Those clots should have killed me. It took an ER doctor ordering a CAT scan to find out it was ovarian cancer. That was the problem – not even the doctors knew enough about OC to identify it, but I was just so relieved to finally know my enemy. Throughout my fight, I’ve grown stronger in my faith because at times it was all I had. I also got connected with another survivor who became my shoulder to lean on. We started a Facebook support group together called Teal Tales that has grown into a community of more than 1,300. At the beginning, I was just so alone and in the dark, and that’s where ovarian cancer thrives. We have to shine light on the disease so people can know what they’re dealing with. All the statistics say you’re going to die…I wasn’t ok with that, and no one else should be either.”

JANET LITTLE

“I thought I was a dead woman walking. I feel so guilty sometimes for thinking that I wouldn’t make it. I actually knew a bit about ovarian cancer, but I had no idea how it would present itself. I had stomach and vaginal issues but no pain in the pelvic area. Colonoscopies, ultrasounds, and CAT scans were clear. I stopped working because I thought it was stress. I was diagnosed at age 58 and have faced multiple recurrences with tumors on my liver and lungs. We also had to leave our home during Harvey, while I was being treated. I’m thankful for every day I get, but the reality is that a lot of days are really hard. I just press on so I can be present for my husband and my daughter Megan. I want to go wedding-dress shopping with her one day. I think about things like that. She’s been my biggest supporter and helps plan the Wheel to Survive bike-a-thon to fight OC. I don’t know how she does it, but she’s never fearful. I’m afraid sometimes. We all know that we’ll die someday, but cancer makes it real. I wouldn’t be here without my family and doctors telling me I would be ok.”

GWEN STEVENS

“My husband and I were building a retirement house, but the stage 4 ovarian cancer diagnosis turned my world upside down. After having 4 tumors removed and 6 chemo treatments, the cancer was gone. Then it came back, and I thought it was my death sentence. But I survived. Then it came back again, and I realized that this is my life now, and what happens next is about how I decide to handle it. I don’t let OC control me. My faith in God has kept me strong, and my husband has been there at every step. I’ve also found an outlet in making quilts for people. It gives me something to pour my energy into during treatment. I just finished one called ‘Crowns and Crosses of Light,’ and it even won first place at a local show. I hope and pray that we can end OC one day, and I try to do my part to increase awareness. It’s a devastating disease, but it has also put me on a spiritual journey that has opened many doors. The blessings are there if you look hard enough. I try not to dwell on yesterday or tomorrow. All I can do is live for the moment.”