Sarah, United States

When I was 25 years old, I welcomed my daughter into the world. She was healthy, I was healthy, and both my pregnancy and delivery were normal. Zero complications.

Fast forward two years, right around her second birthday. I began to have pregnancy symptoms and took a positive pregnancy test. I thought I was pregnant but at the time I was in-between jobs and my health insurance had not kicked in yet. Since they had a sliding scale for payments, I decided to go to Planned Parenthood. The idea was that I would have things checked out and get a timeline without paying an astronomical fee.

At my appointment, they did an internal ultrasound but couldn't see anything. The doctor told me it could be that I was SO early nothing was showing yet. She could have told me to wait a month and go back... but this angel decided to send me for blood work. Results came back the next day and my hCG levels (pregnancy hormone) were through the roof at 300,000 - insanely high. She knew something was wrong and called me immediately. She sent me all over the city to different ultrasound labs. Everyone was trying to see what was going on. I spent the entire day running from building to building and finally the doctor from Planned Parenthood told me to go to the emergency room. I was baffled because I felt fine. I had zero pain, how could anything be wrong?

Reluctantly I went to the ER. I spent the night there and the next day had dozens and dozens of individuals trying their best to get a picture of what was happening in my body. A transverse ultrasound showed something but it was so hard to see I ended up getting a CT scan. They found a huge mass on top of my uterus. Surgery was immediately scheduled for the next morning. I was terrified, alone and confused. I had many doctors discussing my case and the first conclusion they came to was that this was a cornual ectopic pregnancy. They did tell me all the risks, but I only remember them telling me if I loose too much blood they would have to perform a hysterectomy as a life saving procedure. I was only 27 years old and cried at the thought.

Surgery came and went and they ended up shaving off part of the outside of my uterus and removing a grapefruit sized tumor along with my right fallopian tube. I received a blood transfusion during surgery but did not need a hysterectomy. I thought the worst was behind me.

Four days after surgery, one of the doctors called me and told me the pathology came back as choriocarcinoma; placental cancer. They scheduled me two days later with a gynecological oncologist. At that appointment, I was so overwhelmed. So much information was being thrown at me. I received a power port and started in-patient chemotherapy treatments. In-patient means exactly how it sounds... I had to be admitted to the hospital and spend 24 hours hooked up to chemo and steroids. This happened every other week for six treatments. Then I received methotrexate shots until my hCG levels were less than one.

Since I did not present with choriocarcinoma in a normal fashion, the doctors were examining my case and came up with this conclusion: During labor with my daughter two years prior, microscopic placental cells somehow broke away and laid dormant in my body; for two years! Then, spontaneously those cells started forming a tumor that somehow ended up outside my uterus (placental cells don't leave the uterus, this is still a mystery to them). The tumor grew rapidly and they believe reached the grapefruit size within a month. This was caught at the perfect time - I was stage 2 high risk. If that initial doctor at Planned Parenthood didn't send me for blood work, I would have reached stage 4 and things would have metastisized to my lungs or brain.

I'm so beyond grateful for all of the doctors, nurses, techs, etc involved in my care. They are the reason I am here today, and the reason I was able to welcome our son eight years after cancer. This year I will reach the 11 year remission mark 💜 Please always advocate for yourself, find doctors that take you seriously, and dont be afraid to get a second opinion. I was lucky these doctors knew about choriocarcinoma and took everything seriously even though I felt completely fine and was truly so confused why everyone was rushing around trying to figure things out. It saved my life.