BY KELLY ANN PACKARD Special to Florida Weekly In December 1997, at age 27, Gina Delevieleuse went to her gynecologist/ obstetrician for her annual exam. When the physician was completing the exam, she thought Mrs. Delevieleuse was there for a pregnancy checkup. “I was in pretty good shape other than my stomach,” Mrs. Delevieleuse recalls. “I was exercising, eating right and losing weight, but my stomach was getting bigger.” When the physician realized Mrs. Delevieleuse was not pregnant — or at least, didn’t think she was — she performed a vaginal ultrasound but could not see any of Mrs. Delevieleuse’s reproductive organs. “She said that was odd for an ultrasound on someone who is not pregnant,” Mrs. Delevieleuse says. Still not convinced, the physician ordered a pregnancy test. It came back negative, so she sent Mrs. Delevieleuse for an abdominal ultrasound. The ultrasound technician also could not see any of the reproductive organs, so Mrs. Delevieleuse was immediately sent for a CT scan of her abdominal area. “That was when they found two tumors — one in each ovary — laying across my whole lower abdomen,” Mrs. Delevieleuse says. “The tumors were blocking everything else from view.” Mrs. Delevieleuse had lab work completed that same day, and got a referral to see James Orr, M.D., gynecologic oncologist. “My appointment with Dr. Orr was the following week,” Mrs. Delevieleuse says. Upon meeting with Dr. Orr, Mrs. Delevieleuse’s surgery was scheduled immediately. “The day before my surgery, I got the results of my CA-125 (the blood test for ovarian cancer) back. It was cancer.” “We knew the tumors needed to come out immediately, so we scheduled her surgery within two weeks,” Dr. Orr explains. “I was honest with her. I told her we might not be able to save her uterus, but that because she had no children yet, I would do my best to give her that chance.” The surgery was a success. Dr. Orr removed the tumors along with Mrs. Delevieleuse’s ovaries and fallopian tubes. He saw some signs that the cancer was spreading to her abdominal wall, but saved her uterus. The diagnosis was stage 3-C ovarian cancer. Stage 4 is the most serious stage, and usually means the cancer is untreatable. For six months following surgery, she underwent two different chemotherapy treatments, but never stopped working. “I had chemo on Thursdays, so I would take work off on Thursday and Friday, sleep the entire weekend, and go back to work on Monday,” she explains. “Two weeks later, I’d repeat the process. I did this for six months, all while working my accounting job on Sanibel. Except for the chemo day and three recovery days, I lived a pretty normal life.” Mrs. Delevieleuse’s chemo nurses, Laurie Wise, R.N., and Dara Leichter, R.N., are now cancer nurse navigators at Lee Memorial Health System’s Regional Cancer Center. Laurie works with patients who have gastrointestinal and prostate cancers, while Dara is one of two breast cancer nurse navigators. “Each time I would go for chemo, Dara and Laurie would offer something to help me sleep,” she recalls. “I was so active and upbeat, but they wanted me to rest. I just couldn’t rest.” After completing chemo, Dr. Orr performed an exploratory surgery to ensure the cancer had not returned. With a clean surgery and normal lab work results, Mrs. Delevieleuse was cancer-free. “I went back to life,” she says of receiving the all-clear. But Mrs. Delevieleuse’s life was not entirely normal for a 27-year-old because her ovaries had been surgically removed. “As soon as I woke up from the oophorectomy, I was in menopause,” Mrs. Delevieleuse recalls. “I had no one my age to talk to, at least none that I knew of. This all happened so quickly. I tried going to support groups for ovarian cancer survivors, but they were all so much older than me so menopause was more normal for them. I just wasn’t finding the support that I needed because my circumstances were so different. They all had already had children and even grandchildren.” Mrs. Delevieleuse stopped going to the support groups, and instead turned her focus to regaining her life. “When my hair grew back, it grew back so fast that I donated it twice to Locks of Love — 14 inches both times,” she says. “It used to be straight, but it came back curly.” Mrs. Delevieleuse and her husband decided not to have children. Even though Dr. Orr saved her uterus, she was told it would not be advisable to put her abdominal area though any additional trauma. She and her husband thoroughly enjoy their niece and nephews who live right next door. Mrs. Delevieleuse works at a country club in Estero, and spends her free time boating, fishing, traveling and enjoying time with her family. “I have been cancer-free for 14 years, but I don’t look at myself as a survivor,” Mrs. Delevieleuse admits. “I had cancer, I survived it, and now I’m living my life to the fullest. I’m a healthy 41-year-old who doesn’t dwell on anything.” Printed with permission Source: Florida Weeklyhttps://fortmyers.floridaweekly.com/news/2012-02-08/Healthy_Living/Beating_cancer_at_27_enjoying_life_at_41.html