A 32-Year-Old Ovarian Cancer Survivor and Her Mother End their Mount Everest Adventure Early with No Regrets, Savor ‘The Gift of Time’

“My mom had to turn around today,” she wrote. She had pushed every limit with her asthma and made the wise call to return to camp. Ending her Everest journey.”

Jess will continue on her adventure, but without her mom by her side. She was in “a puddle of snot and tears and slobber” as she said goodbye to her mother, but she knew all along the journey would be about much more than just getting to the top.

“But for us it's so much bigger than climbing a mountain,” she wrote. “It's the hugs we share after a long day on the trail. The ‘I love you’s she whispered across our tents. The comforting solidarity we felt together. How proud we are of each other. The mutual protectiveness. The joy we find in seeing the world, in giving a great effort. It's the way she comes alive when she is sharing the outdoors with others. It is the gift of time.”

The 32-year-old ovarian cancer survivor and her mother have been through a lot and know that time spent with family is the most precious gift of all. Valari and Jess Wedel were trying to become the first American mother-daughter duo to reach the world’s highest peak.

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The two are experienced climbers and began their snowy trek up the mountain weeks ago.

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Jess has provided followers on Instagram updates about their journey along the way and expressed how thankful she is for the love and support from her 10,000 followers.

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The pair has gone through too much hardship to not embrace their incredible journey. Jess was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2016. She had two surgeries to remove her ovaries and uterus and 18 weeks of chemotherapy, but now she’s cancer-free.

“It feels like part of our healing was coming into the mountains and being able to enjoy each other and have fun and just live life,” Jess said.

Understanding Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is when the ovaries, which produce the sex hormone, estrogen, as well as eggs, become cancerous. Every woman has two ovaries, one on either side of the uterus.

The fallopian tube, which brings the egg from the ovary to the uterus for fertilization, is actually where many ovarian cancers begin. First, a few cancerous cells develop on the fallopian tubes, then these cells stick to the ovaries as the fallopian tubes brush over the ovary. From there, the cancerous cells grow to form a tumor.

Dr. Beth Karlan, a gynecologic oncologist at UCLA Medical Center, says the term ovarian cancer refers to a number of different tumors that reside in the ovary, the female reproductive organ. She also says that ovarian cancer can be difficult to recognize as its symptoms may be subtle.

Related: Ovarian Cancer Symptoms Can Be Hard to Spot

"Ovarian cancer does not have any specific symptoms,” Karlan said in an earlier interview with SurvivorNet. “It's often referred to as the cancer that whispers, in that it has symptoms that are really very vague…and nothing that may bring your attention directly to the ovaries."

Ovarian Cancer: The Cancer That Whispers

Dr. Karlan advises women to keep an eye out for a variety of possible symptoms.

"The symptoms include things like feeling full earlier than you usually would when your appetite is strong," she said. "Feeling bloated," is another symptom, she added. "Some changes in your bowel habits. Some pain in the pelvis. These are symptoms women may have every month. These are not very specific. But what we've found from multiple studies, it's this constellation of symptoms."

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