Tara Lessard, a photographer, is currently battling stage four ovarian cancer — but you’d never know it from the calm, collected way she discusses what she’s been through with the disease. Tara sat down with SurvivorNet to discuss something that is so important for people facing cancer — taking the time to get a second opinion … or in Tara’s case, a fifth.
Tara was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2015. “I went for a number of opinions and ended up choosing a hospital that was right outside of Camden, New Jersey, and I was there for 21 chemotherapies,” Tara explained. After finishing chemo, Tara began getting neuropathy and was wheelchair-bound for several months. “I did go to a number of other hospitals, and essentially what they said is, we would do the same thing, that’s kind of protocol. And I just didn’t hear what I wanted to hear.”
Eventually, Tara ended up seeking a cancer center that offered her treatment options that just worked better with her situation. She had her spleen removed, she was put on a different type of chemo, and afterwards, she was put on a PARP inhibitor as a preventative medicine. With this combination, Tara was cancer-free for a year. She did recur though, in September of 2018, and have to undergo some additional treatment. Unfortunately, recurrence is still very common with ovarian cancer.
But Tara’s overall message is such an important one — your opinion does matter when it comes to your own cancer treatment. So, get a second opinion if you want one — or even a fifth.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Tara Lessard, a photographer, is currently battling stage four ovarian cancer — but you’d never know it from the calm, collected way she discusses what she’s been through with the disease. Tara sat down with SurvivorNet to discuss something that is so important for people facing cancer — taking the time to get a second opinion … or in Tara’s case, a fifth.
Tara was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2015. “I went for a number of opinions and ended up choosing a hospital that was right outside of Camden, New Jersey, and I was there for 21 chemotherapies,” Tara explained. After finishing chemo, Tara began getting neuropathy and was wheelchair-bound for several months. “I did go to a number of other hospitals, and essentially what they said is, we would do the same thing, that’s kind of protocol. And I just didn’t hear what I wanted to hear.”
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Eventually, Tara ended up seeking a
cancer center that offered her treatment options that just worked better with her situation. She had her spleen removed, she was put on a different type of chemo, and afterwards, she was put on a
PARP inhibitor as a preventative medicine. With this combination, Tara was cancer-free for a year. She did recur though, in September of 2018, and have to undergo some additional treatment. Unfortunately,
recurrence is still very common with ovarian cancer.
But Tara’s overall message is such an important one — your opinion does matter when it comes to your own cancer treatment. So, get a second opinion if you want one — or even a fifth.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
