Rosie Hankins Ovarian Cancer

My mom broke out into a rash at the beginning of December. She went to Urgent Care and was placed on a steroid dose pack and possible diagnosis of dermatitis. When the steroid pack weaned her down on prednisone she began to experience swelling and muscle weakness. Her primary care doctor thought this was possible drug reaction to the prednisone. She was started on a regular dose of prednisone to later be weaned off again. Once she began weaning she began to swell and experienced muscle weakness and difficulty swallowing. Her symptoms became unbearable landing her in the hospital for five days. The medical team at the hospital thought she might have dermatomyositis. They advised her to go to a rheumatologist. We were unable to get an appointment within a timely manner so she scheduled the soonest appointment two months away and she saw an allergist and dermatologist in the meantime to continue with a medication regimen and hope to find answers. She had biopsies done and the allergist wanted her to try to wean off of the steroid but at a slower pace. When she began weaning off of the steroid her rash broke out all over her body and swelling became worse. When she was able to see the rheumatologist he started her on an immunosuppressant medication and increased her steroid dose. The doctor also ordered CT and US testing to be done to rule out cancer since dermatomyositis can be link to cancer. Her Abdominal US came back showing three masses one in each ovary and one located by her spleen. She began seeing a gynecologist specializing in oncology and was told she needed to have a hysterectomy. Her hospital stay was three days of recovery once the surgery was complete. Her masses were removed and sent to pathology, which showed stage three ovarian cancer.

There have been numerous medical expenses that our family has acquired over the past six months. Along with my mom not being able to keep her nursing job since she had just moved and was unable to perform the work requirements. So anything helps and if nothing else, I hope this brings awareness to ovarian cancer. Most women do not know they have ovarian cancer until it is in stage three or four because the symptoms are not very noticeable. Who knows when we would have found out had my mom not gotten this rash.

Thank you for your time,
Casey Hankins