Please Help Betsey’s Ovarian Cancer Journey

For those of you who know Betsey, you know that she has the biggest heart. I was blessed to have met her almost 20 years ago. She comes from two amazing parents, Sue and Darrell. Being an only child, she’s always gravitated and valued her relationships with her people. She cares deeply for those who are so lucky to be a part of her life. She’s the type of person that lights up the room and is a VERY entertaining person to be around. Betsey is an extremely talented self-taught personal chef, who I couldn’t thank more for teaching me some things in the kitchen. She puts passion into her job, family, friends, sports, games, fishing, and she is a dog lover x10000. Anything she does, she’s all in. Now more than ever she needs support from anyone who is willing to help. For someone without health insurance this battle presents a lot of stress to an already stressful situation. The funds raised will go towards gas and overnight stays for hospital trips in the Detroit area, current bills, prescriptions, reversal surgery for the ileostomy, future treatments, and mounting medical expenses.

Please share and repost this Go Fund Me in the hopes to reach as many people as possible!

Finally, take a moment to read Betsey’s health journey she’s been navigating in her own words.

With love and gratitude, Kristin

After having a dry prolonged cough for two weeks, I went to Urgent Care. I had some stomach pain and thought I had possibly pulled a muscle. This was the start to the hardest 3 months of my life.

They sent me for an ultrasound and we got the call the same day that I possibly had cancer. My brain shut off. I had never been to the hospital, I wasn’t on any medication. Healthy. This couldn’t possibly be cancer. The next step was an inconclusive painful biopsy, blood work that showed I had incredibly high tumor markers and another doctor that told us he would be extremely surprised if it wasn’t cancer. The CT wasn’t any better. More suspicion my body was betraying me in multiple areas. A large mass in my pelvis. The wait to see a Gynecologic Oncologist in TC was over a month. Luckily, we have some angels we call friends who urged us to seek help downstate. (Detroit area)

We got admitted to Beaumont Troy, MI and got the ball rolling. I finally had multiple eyes trying to figure out what “this” was. Over the next week I had x-rays, CT’s, MRI, colonoscopy, more ultrasounds and fluid drained from around my lung. (These tests would have taken months had I stayed home in Traverse City for treatment. Time I didn’t have.) All while trying to figure out what to biopsy to get any answers. We left Troy after five days getting some good news but still no diagnosis. My stress and terror levels were maxed out. At this point I had to stop working and cancel clients I had booked for months. To not be able to cook and do what I love the most depressed me even deeper. My Gyn Onc team then referred me to the doctor who would end up being my surgeon. My hero. From the first moment we talked on the phone consult, he assured me he would take care of it.

Surgery was scheduled three weeks after I left Troy. It felt like an eternity. The stomach pain had intensified and you could see the mass in my stomach visibly. It was hard to the touch, and I wanted it removed so badly.

The team told me the surgery would be exploratory, which was difficult to wrap my head around. Not knowing what they would be taking out of my body didn’t seem fair. I was so nervous, I had never even had a minor surgery.

The surgery day came around and I went through a 5-hour procedure. They removed the mass. It was six pounds. They also had to remove my uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, appendix, a section of bowel, and lymph nodes to be safe. We were told that if I had waited an additional week, he would not have been able to operate because the mass would have been too large. Keep in mind I still would not have even been seen yet for the first time back home. It would be 10-14 days before pathology came back from everything they took. More waiting. .

That night in the ICU was nothing short of a nightmare. They couldn’t get my pain controlled. I had so much air in my abdomen from the surgery that I could hardly breathe. Every breath was painful. For hours it was an 8.5/10. I was alone with my pain. Adam could not stay with me while I was in the ICU.

The next day when I finally got my patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) and got some relief they let me know that I had blood clots in my leg that had also traveled to my lungs. The surgery had also likely caused nerve damage in my right leg- I was unable to move my leg from my thigh to my shin. (I am still dealing with this, as nerves can heal by millimeters at a time.) I was in so much pain and so frustrated with my body. I was also now on blood thinners. I went over 60 hours before I could eat or drink which really chapped my ass. The ICU nurses were angels I will remember the rest of my life.

I finally got moved out of the ICU. Sleep was next to impossible, maybe three hours a night, split between blood draws and vitals. I was told I was making progress, walking the halls determined to go home but still in a lot of pain. We were discharged after seven days in the hospital. Then the wait for pathology began.

Being home turned out to be harder than I expected. I didn’t get sent home with pain meds and was sleeping even less than at the hospital. My emotions were everywhere anticipating the worst. To add to the stress, I was without health insurance and we paid out of pocket to have my surgery, among other expenses.

Finally two weeks and one day after the surgery, the call came from the PA of the Gyn Onc office. I was diagnosed with bilateral ovarian cancer. It was likely caused by severe endometriosis. I had probably had it for some time but not noticed signs until the mass started causing issues. Luckily, it was contained to the ovaries which they had removed. Every other tissue sample they took was negative for any spread or malignancy.

I had my follow up appointment and was told my case was extremely rare. Less than 5% of cases look like mine. Most ovarian cancer is aggressive and mine was slow growing. Also, I am apparently in menopause, but have yet to feel any signs.

Then I asked the question, do I have cancer currently? And the answer was no. Cancer FREE. Three months of unbelievable trauma and the unknown led to this moment, and I could finally breathe.

I will likely need hormone therapy, chemotherapy, or both. Genetic testing will also be done because I am adopted. I don’t know why people call it a cancer battle, it’s not a fair fight to begin with. I’m still healing from the surgery, there’s still a while until I feel “normie”. Hopefully I am able to go back to work sooner than later. We have managed to accumulate over $200K in medical bills. This nightmare isn’t over but I am alive. Thank you to everyone who has shown up, reached out, supported us and held me up in spirit. You are the reason I crawled my way through this.