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I'm kind of a car nut. I'll put it this way, I wouldn't buy a car if it
didn't have any options. So why would I go to a hospital that didn't have the most options?
"If it wasn't for UVA and Dr. Modesitt, I don't believe I would be here telling you
my story. I am five years cancer free. And I went on with my life. I'm now working a
full time job. I'm driving my favorite car again. It's just like where I left off I just
picked up and didn't miss a beat. Well, It all started when I had an appointment with
my doctor, and I almost cancelled it because I thought I was just being too vein and didn't
want to admit that I was getting old and getting a middle aged spread.
But I was starting to get really big in my
stomach area. So I went to the doctor and he said Mary, I don't want to scare you but
I think you have a tumor.
Mary needed options. Mary was Stage III and that is never ideal.
I first met Mary in 2007, initially she had a large pelvic mass in her abdomen, so we
were concerned it was ovarian cancer. We were able to take her to the operating room, where
we were able to remove all of the cancer that was visible.
Ovarian cancer is a very aggressive disease,
and so it's really important that they get the right thing and the thing that can optimize
their survival. Whether it's surgical, whether it's chemotherapy, whether it's radiation.
Those are the things that as a NCI-designated cancer center we have available for our patients
here that aren't necessarily available everywhere.
I'm as passionate about my life now, as my
doctor and her team were about saving mine.
There are a lot of Marys out there. Our job
at UVA is to be ready for whatever they bring us.