Andrea Annese Como

I will never forget that unusually warm day, March 12th, 2007. I picked up our children, Nathaniel and Nicolette, from school and we were stopping at the track on the way home to run. I was on my final sprint when the pain started. Alarmed by its severity, I called my husband, Dave. Within the hour, we were at the emergency room. It was determined that I had two large cysts pressing against my left ovary which I was given medication for to ease the pain. That following morning, I met with my gynecologist, Dr. Clements, who determined that immediate surgery would be required.

 

I received the diagnosis of Stage 2 Ovarian Cancer. Dr. Kredentser, a Gynecological Oncologist who performed my surgery, later informed me that if I did not experience the pain from the cysts, my diagnosis would have remained undetected and the cancer would have progressed onto Stage 4 very quickly.

 

I was later relieved when Dr. Aghajanian, Chief of Oncology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, told me that chemotherapy would not be necessary. Instead, she recommended three radiation treatments. Dr. Savage was my radiologist at St. Peters Hospital, and I can honestly say that he and all of the nurses that cared for me were incredible as they helped to make a frightening situation as comfortable as possible for me.