Meet Ashley

As a woman with PCOS, I’ve experienced irregular periods most of my life, until one day in March 2023 when things drastically changed. I went from having 1-2 periods a year to suddenly experiencing heavy bleeding for a full year. There was so much going on in my life that I first attributed the problem to stress and delayed care until the Fall of 2024 when things started to settle down in my life. Nothing changed and I knew something had to be wrong with my body. However, anytime I would seek out medical care I would always face the same response, “start oral contraceptive to stop the bleeding.” It was during this time that I really learned to be an advocate for myself and decline the initial guidance of just using medication to “fix” the problem, but request additional testing to discover more about what was going on with my body. 

After many months of pushing, I was finally able to have an ultrasound that found what was believed to be a “cyst” on my left ovary. I was informed that typically cyst dissolve on their own, but after a few months and another ultrasound, the “cyst” appeared slightly larger. It wasn’t until the second ultrasound that we also found an endometrial polyp that could be the cause of my heavy bleeding. From here, surgery was scheduled to remove the “cyst” and polyp. 

In June 2024, I underwent surgery, but something was uniquely odd. What was said to be an hour to an hour and a half procedure turned into a four hour surgery. My OBGYN later informing my family and I that the tissues removed appeared to  be very abnormal. After a few months of waiting, the pathology reports returned with devastating news, Ovarian Cancer. Thus leading to a visit to with an Oncologist and another surgery in September 2024 to completely remove my left ovary and fallopian tube and determine my staging. Following the pathology of my second surgery, it was discovered that the ovary still had cancer in it. Not only that, but I still had free floating cancer cells that had spread throughout the area. 

I’ll never forget the tears that rolled down my face as the Oncologist informed me in my post-op visit that I had Stage 3A Cancer and would need to start fertility preservation immediately as I would need to complete chemotherapy right away. After receiving the news there were so many obstacles that I had to figure out, including: discovering good self-care practices and who I could lean on for help, how to take time off of work after maxing out my PTO, how to file insurance claims and check coverage on certain things, and more importantly figuring out how I would be able to handle things financially. 

In spite of it all, with the help of my faith and community, I’ve been able to leap over so many hurdles. I would advise anyone going through cancer as a young adult to go through the emotions but never give up hope, advocate for yourself and don’t be afraid to ask for help. I know sometimes it can be difficult to let your guard down and rely on others, but it’s absolutely necessary. Seek therapy/counseling, let people know what’s happening, ask for help when you need it, be patient with yourself, and advocate for yourself when you feel something isn’t right. 

I’m so thankful for Team Maggie for curating a place for those battling cancer. Not only has their donation helped me financially for fertility preservation, but it has extended another community that also shows love and support during your journey.