Her Stories of Inspiration

Maxim’s Story

I will start off my story by saying, I’m alive, but the road to recovery hasn’t been easy, however it’s been full of support. My name is Maxim and I was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer in 2015.

Present Day, I’ve been living a healthier life in remission for the last 3 years with no immediate scares or complications. During the first part of my journey, I was vomiting violently and never able to keep food down. My appetite became nonexistent and I experienced a lot of depression, because no doctor was able to tell me what was going on. As the months continued, I had heavy muscle spasms within the pelvic area and this continued undiagnosed for months. I went to 8 different doctors and nobody was able to tell me what was wrong with me. Once I started having extreme pain through intercourse with my husband of 15 years, I realized something had to be done about my unknown condition. I reached out to a specialist in Arkansas and took a flight to see them and that’s when I got the news within a couple weeks of test that I had Ovarian Cancer. The doctors that I saw previously all missed and ignored these signs, not intentionally, but because there is few facts out there about Ovarian. They originally misdiagnosed me and assumed it was just irritable bowel syndrome or backup in my intestines. I’m glad the newer doctors were able to figure out it was Ovarian Cancer, before it was too late.

My journey of recovery began immediately, as I was able to take the diagnosis of the Ovarian Cancer back home and begin treatment. After multiple treatments of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, paired with a complete change of my diet, which consisted of a lot of natural juices, turmeric, ginger, and berries, I was feeling much better and finally free of cancer. Honestly, I wake up everyday in fear that it will come back, so I started seeing a psychologist. I’m much more active again now and I’m back riding bikes and running races again. I’m taking it day by day, but I wanted to share a little of my story of survival and remind women that none of our journeys will be the same, but with support, prayer, a change of diet, and recommendations from the doctor, I believe you can beat this battle of cancer. I’m living proof. Thanks for reading a little about me. I’m sending love and light to anyone battling cancer. I hope my story can help inspire the confidence to keep fighting!

Love,
Maxim

Elizabeth’s Story

Hello Beautiful Women of Teal,

My name is Elizabeth and I’m an Ovarian Cancer Survivor! I first wanted to say, I’m so thankful for The Teal Peacock Foundation giving me this opportunity to speak on my survival story in the way I want to tell it.

Nobody has ever cared to ask and this makes me feel so empowered! I want my survival story to reflect the takeaways I had when I found out I had Ovarian Cancer 6 years ago.

I wasn’t prepared for this journey, I wasn’t properly eating and working out prior to being diagnosed and I wasn’t being kind to myself. I want to be honest with you ladies, my self-esteem was somewhere on the ground floor, because I wasn’t happy with where I was in my life. Me being diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer made me fight harder, love myself more, change my diet, begin to exercise and become the best version of myself. I never knew a struggle this deep would make me as strong and resilient as I’ve become!

I know, my approach to telling my survival story may seem odd, but this is my truth. It took me being diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer to change my perspective on health. I fought the fight against Voldemort (Cancer) and to all my Harry Potter fans you understand the reference. I beat the darkness and I came into the light and I won!

I’m now cancer free and I’ve been living a healthy life since my original diagnosis 6 years ago. Wow, it feels so amazing to say that and know that miracles can happen. I went through multiple rounds of chemo and it finally worked for me.

Chemo is not the only option, I also suggest women look into some natural healing as well, as some cultures worldwide believe they have herbs and cleanses that can heal anything. It’s worth a try! Medically, I can’t say what will work for anyone, but I’m saying as a survivor, FIGHT and utilize every resource to get well.

I wanted my Survival Story to reflect the hope and triumph, instead of just the harsh realities we face as women when being diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer.

Don’t get lost in the pain, give all your energy to the healing process and FIGHT. Keep the faith strong!

A special message to all of the women we lost in the battle. You’re so loved and valued and we will continue to fight for cures and healing. I love you all.

Love,
Elizabeth

Julie’s Story

I’ve never spoken on my story, but I’m here and I survived Ovarian Cancer. My name is Julie and I was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer 8 years ago. I’ve been in remission for 4 years now, and since then 8 has become my Angel Number. I never got into the significance of spirituality and Angel numbers, until I turned to faith to get me through this tough chapter of my life.

The Angel Number 8 is closely connected to your confidence, self-esteem, healing, self-acceptance, and its message for you is to have confidence in yourself and your feelings. Let me take you back to 8 years ago, when I found out the news that I thought would end up being my death sentence. I was on my daily jog and I completely collapsed due to severe pelvic pain and I wasn’t able to breathe. All I remember from that day was collapsing and blacking out and waking up in a hospital.

Upon waking up, I saw my daughters face, visibly red from crying, but happy I was alive and awake. The Doctors at that point didn’t know what was happening to me, so I stayed in the hospital for weeks for test to be ran and finally after 22 different test, it was determined I had reached a higher stage of Ovarian Cancer. Prior, I didn’t really notice any abnormal signs, because I thought my pelvic pain was just a sign of me needing more rest, I thought my loss of appetite was due to a change in my work and sleep schedule and I thought that my vaginal bleeding was due to the stress, which I started taking supplements for and it seemingly was helping. There were so many other small things happening that I ignored, because when you Google symptoms normal things would come up that don’t alarm you as a woman.

Fast forward to me starting aggressive chemo treatments and radiation therapy, paired with a lot of changes to my diet, I started to improve significantly overtime.

The scariest part of all of this was the idea of my daughter losing her only parent and when I shaved all of my hair off. I know, sounds vain, but I guess you can say I’m a girly girl and I love playing in my hair, so a bald head was not something I felt confident about and it terrified me. The moment I felt like a real warrior was when my daughter and her friends all shaved their heads too and I felt we could conquer everything together!

I’m crying as I right this because I didn’t know survival was an option, until I saw my daughters and her friends faces the day they all shaved their heads. I was reminded that my daughter needed me to pull through, by any means necessary, as I’m her only living parent. My Husband tragically passed 10 years ago, so I had to pull through for my daughter and I did.

What I want every woman to take away from my story is that faith change change everything and it’s never to late to find faith in self, faith in spirituality, and faith in the medical professionals helping you get better.

With Love,
Julie

Angel’s Story

My name is Angel and I’m an Ovarian Cancer Survivor. Wow, it’s incredible and such a blessing to be writing that and saying it out loud, because my journey has been everything short of a fairytale. I was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer 4 years ago and I’ve been in remission since last year.

My faith was my biggest support system since I started this rocky journey to beat cancer. I don’t have much family, so the doctors and other patients at the hospital, became my family. When I was first diagnosed I was one of the lucky ones. My Ovarian Cancer was caught in the early stages, during a routine check up that turned into a series of test and blood work. After a couple weeks, it was confirmed that I had Ovarian Cancer. I was able to then start possible treatment plans that would help me be on the road to being cancer free. The toughest thing I went through was the blurry vision I encountered from the treatments, which after a few months wore off and my eyesight was restored back to normal. Although it’s not a typical reaction to the treatment that’s what happened with me. I was unable to keep food down for months, so I was on a liquid diet just to keep my nourishment up. The constant pelvic pain and back pain made it hard for me to walk, so at times I was wheel chair ridden. I don’t want to go deep into every bad detail, so I will share the good. After a long fight, I’m healthier and in remission and feeling like my old self again, before the diagnosis occurred.

I’m thankful to be alive and I want to continue impacting other women through my story of perseverance. Ladies, please don’t let cancer break you, because you can win the fight, it’s just a hard road. I love all the women fighting to survive and I love all of our angels that heaven gained. Keep Fighting! You can WIN! I appreciate The Teal Peacock Foundation for this platform to tell my story!

Love,
Angel