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For participating in 2024 Jodi's Race for Awareness

Our story…

This is the second year that Keena's Ova It Team has participated in Jodi's Race. Thank you for visiting our team page and donating to help support COCA, Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance, an amazing organization that offers support to those affected by ovarian cancer and helps to promote awareness. A little about Kaylinda aka Keena's story: 

At the end of 2021, I started to have shooting pains on my right side pelvic region.  I had previously been diagnosed with ovarian cysts and just chalked up the pain to the cysts. By early 2022, the pain was more consistent and I went to see my gynecologist.  My doctor thought my pain sounded like a muscle pull but agreed to get an ultrasound.  The ultrasound showed what appeared to be a large fibroid on my uterus that was blocking the visualization of my ovaries.  I was told that the fibroid was benign and that I could have it removed but there was no rush.  Since the procedure would be invasive, I decided to postpone.

Any pain I had after that I just attributed to the fibroid.  In the fall of 2022, I started to gain weight in my stomach, which was abnormal for me, but I thought it was just due to getting older and the pain on my right side grew constant.  I also would get full quickly and could not remember the last time I actually felt hungry. At Thanksgiving this last year, I was feeling miserable and at the urging of my family I went to the emergency room.  A CT showed that I had fluid build-up in my belly, a large mass on my right ovary and an enlarged lymph node in my chest.  This is conjunction with extremely elevated tumor markers in my blood work pointed to Stage 3 or 4 ovarian cancer. Happy 40th birthday to me!

I was referred immediately to a Gynecologic Oncologist.  A final treatment plan couldn't be finalized until the type of cancer was determined.  So, I had a robotic procedure that drained the excess fluid (6 Liters), removed my left ovary (also encased in a mass) and biopsied my lymph node.  Luckily, the fluid and lymph node were negative for cancer and the left ovary only showed a borderline tumor.  The next step was still a total hysterectomy.

In January 2023, I had a total hysterectomy and removal of the 11cm mass on my right ovary.  The mass came back as mostly borderline tumor but a small portion was diagnosed as Stage 1 carcinoma.  Since everything was removed, no follow-up treatment was needed at this time, just monitoring.

I was extremely lucky, because the prognosis was not promising at the initial findings. A big thank you to my medical team who moved quickly (although at the time it seemed to take forever), and to my family and friends for their endless support. I urge everyone to trust your instincts, and when you think something is wrong, advocate for yourself and always get a second opinion.

Early symptoms of ovarian cancer:

*Bloating

*Pelvic or abdominal pain

*Difficulty eating or feeling full quickly

*Urinary urgency or frequency

Team members

Click on one of our team members below to make a donation.

Recent donors

Donation date Donor name Donation amount
Jun 01 Stephanie Turner $26.00