Last August, Sarah Fraley went to the Emergency Department at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center for abdominal pain.
“A couple of months prior, I saw my primary doctor, who is not part of Advocate, and said I was having some odd sensations in my abdomen. I felt like my concerns weren’t taken seriously at the time. Still, when I went to the Emergency Department, I expected to be sent home with antibiotics or something similar,” she recalled. “I never thought it would be anything major.”
But a CT scan showed a mass in Sarah’s abdomen that doctors suspected might be malignant. She was scheduled for an MRI and a biopsy of the mass.
“After the results of the biopsy came back, I was told I had stage 3 ovarian cancer. It was terrifying; I was only 28 years old.”
Ovarian cancer is often called a “silent disease” because its early symptoms commonly go unnoticed. There’s no preventative screening for it, and in many cases, it’s not diagnosed until it has started to grow. It’s also a cancer that typically affects post-menopausal women.
Being so young, Sarah was faced with the decision of fertility preservation. Ultimately, she made the difficult choice not to freeze her eggs in order to expedite her treatment.
“I didn’t want to wait. I had surgery, including a full hysterectomy, followed by six rounds of chemotherapy,” she explained. “I felt very cared for at Advocate Illinois Masonic. The doctors and nurses were fantastic, especially during my first chemo treatment. It was really scary, but they always listened to my needs. I regularly met with a social worker, Danielle McDonald, which was very beneficial for my mental health. She was like a therapist.”
Supplemental support – treating the mind, body and spirit
Patients at Advocate Health Care are offered integrative medicine and therapies, like acupuncture, massage and aromatherapy. Acupuncture and nutritional supplements helped Sarah navigate her treatment and menopause.
“Menopause is not something I ever expected to deal with at such a young age. It was very difficult,” she admitted. “But the integrative therapies helped with symptoms like hot flashes and helped ease some of my anxiety through breathing exercises and meditation.”
Sarah also used the Dignicap scalp cooling system, which can help reduce or slow hair loss during chemotherapy.
“I still lost most of my hair, but the DigniCap helped me ease into it instead of losing it all at once.”
Looking to a brighter future
Sarah had her last chemotherapy session in February. In June, she was invited to speak at Advocate Illinois Masonic’s cancer survivor event.
“It was great to share my story and be surrounded by survivors,” she said. “I felt very empowered.”
Now she has follow-up scans every three months and is working on rebuilding her strength. She’s also getting married next year.
“Throughout my journey, I felt cared about as a person – I wasn’t just a number. And the staff took time to get to know me. In fact, I recently had an appointment, and they asked me how our wedding plans were coming along.”
How you can help
Philanthropy supports many services and programs available to patients like Sarah, including integrative therapies, the DigniCap system and survivorship programs.
“The level of comprehensive care available at Advocate Illinois Masonic was incredible,” said Sarah. “If I needed something, there was always someone who could handle it, whether it was mental health, sexual health, nutrition or acupuncture. I had a whole team around me supporting me every step of the way.”
You can help patients like Sarah by making a donation today.