For most cancer patients, the diagnosis comes first and the surgery comes second. However, that wasn’t the case for Indianapolis ovarian cancer survivor Linda Richmond who learned about her cancer diagnosis in an unconventional way.
Richmond underwent surgery in 2010 after going through a CA 125 ovarian cancer screening test, but she just assumed it was a mass and never suspected she actually had the cancer. After surgery, Richmond learned about her stage two ovarian cancer diagnosis. Luckily for her, the cancer was removed before she even had time to dwell on the news.
Read More RELATED: Getting the Support You Need During the Cancer Journey Richmond immediately started chemotherapy, and says it was extremely difficult at first. However, her family provided a much-needed support system which helped her get through the treatments. People brought food, sent cards, and her friends and husband helped her pick out two wigs after she lost her hair. “The love and support I had, I don’t think I would have come out of it as well emotionally and physically,” Richmond says. “I just never felt alone. I never had a chance to get down about it. I always had somebody there to talk to or help me through. When people find out you have cancer they always like to tell you these terrible stories of somebody else they’ve known who had cancer that maybe didn’t have a good outcome. My biggest advice to someone that’s just been recently diagnosed with any kind of cancer is to block that out and just do what your doctors say and don’t give up.”
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