'I Was Diagnosed With Stage IV Ovarian Cancer At 58—Here's What I Noticed FIrst'
In 2013, Mary Lou Polo was given just a week to live. She had stage IV ovarian cancer, and her chances of survival were grim. This September, more than 10 years later, Polo recently celebrated her 69th birthday. "I would like for people to know that ovarian cancer doesn’t have to be a death sentence," Polo says.
It hasn't been for Polo, who has defied her prognosis. However, the road hasn't been easy—Polo hasn't been cancer-free all this time. In fact, her cancer recurred in her heart, lungs, bones, hip, lymph nodes and brain. She's had a heart attack and recently lost her husband to ALS.
Yet she's determined to keep fighting and offer others hope she wasn't given when she first learned of her diagnosis. Here, Polo discusses the symptoms of ovarian cancer she first noticed, her incorrect initial diagnosis, treatment and how she finds light on dark days.
Related: 'I Was Diagnosed With Cancer at 16 and Again at 39—These Were the Very First Symptoms I Noticed'
The First Sign of Ovarian Cancer
Polo did not learn she had stage IV ovarian cancer until 2013, but something felt off in 2012. "I felt bloated and felt like I was pregnant, but knew I wasn’t as I had had a partial hysterectomy," Polo explained.
Bloating is one symptom of ovarian cancer, according to the CDC. Other ovarian cancer signs are:
Vaginal bleeding (especially in post-menopausal people)
Abnormal vaginal discharge
Pelvic area pain or pressure
Abdominal or back pain
Feeling full too quickly
Difficulty eating.
New bathroom habits, like more frequent urination or constipation
Discussing these symptoms with doctors is a good idea because the American Cancer Society data reports that early detection increases survival chances. However, there is no screening for ovarian cancer. For her part, Polo did raise concerns with her doctor.
"He thought it was just my thyroid," Polo says. "He put me on thyroid medication, but that never felt right to me."
Then, she got an abnormal pap smear, prompting doctors to order more tests. One was a mammogram that didn't show cancer. A week later, a big yawn raised a significant flag.
"I felt a painful lump in my chest when I stretched my arm up," Polo said. "I called my doctor, and they had me come back in for a breast ultrasound, which found a lump very near my rib cage. They did surgery to remove it and found it was cancer."
However, it wasn't the cancer doctors thought she had.
Related: Wait—Why Do I Feel Pain Under My Right Rib Cage?
A Grimmer Prognosis
Doctors told Polo she had breast cancer. However, she wasn't so sure. When she was feeling ill, she went to the emergency room. A work-up there would later confirm that Polo was correct in continuing to question her diagnosis.
"They did more testing and told me I had cancer everywhere in my abdomen," Polo said.
It turned out, she had stage IV ovarian cancer that had spread to her breast—not actual breast cancer. Research shows that the spread of ovarian cancer to the breast is possible, but rare.
The Cleveland Clinic reports that more common places ovarian cancer spreads include:
Lymph nodes
Abdomen (where the ER noticed Polo's cancer)
Intestines
Stomach
Chest
Liver
For Polo? "It was all over my body at that point."
Doctors gave Polo a week to live. She saw Dr. Robert DeBernardo, MD, at Cleveland Clinic. He thought otherwise.
"I went to see Dr. DeBernardo, who had just joined Cleveland Clinic, and he scheduled surgery right away," Polo says. "It lasted five hours. He removed all of the cancer from my organs. It was the only time in all these years I didn’t have a speck of cancer in me."
Polo also began aggressive chemotherapy, which she has been on for the last 11 years.
Related: The Early Ovarian Cancer Sign Most People Miss, According to OB/GYNs
Living With Cancer
Cancer has recurred in Polo's body about every two years, including in her heart, lungs, bones, hip, lymph nodes and brain. She's an expert in her body and knows when it's returned.
"I can tell when the cancer is growing again," Polo says. "My first signs that the cancer is spreading again are bloating and gassiness. Those are actually two of the main signs of ovarian cancer."
Polo flags her signs, and her healthcare team at Cleveland Clinic listens.
"If I have any pain, they check me right away," she says. "This is a painful cancer. The tumors hurt from the fluid that builds up around the organs from the cancer."
Additionally, Polo continues to go for chemotherapy every three weeks (she had been going monthly until recently). She also undergoes MRIs every three months. It's tiring, but the close watch has been life-extending, especially when the cancer recurred in her brain.
"I am thankful that they found the brain cancer this year as early as they did, as it can grow very quickly," Polo says. "I had Gamma Knife surgery. This is a type of targeted radiation that is very quick, and the tumor was gone. It was incredible."
Also incredible? Polo's fight in the face of other hardships. In 2021, her husband died of ALS.
"It’s been a terrible journey, and taking care of my husband as he was dying from ALS made it much worse," Polo says. "I really believe the stress from that made my cancer worse. I had a heart attack during all this as well. I had to go in and get a stent placed."
Related: This Weird Habit Is One of the Most Common Signs of Brain Cancer, According to Neurologists
Why She Fights on With Ovarian Cancer
Polo has lived with cancer for more than a decade—long defying a prognosis of one week to live with Stage IV ovarian cancer. She's grieved her husband and experienced so much physical and emotional distress. Why keep fighting?
"I had a lot to live for," Polo says. "My son was getting married, and my other son was going back to school, and I wanted to be here for them."
Polo credits her church for its support and is grateful to the team at Cleveland Clinic for keeping her alive so she can experience life and milestones with her family.
"I learned how to be patient with doctors but also to always push when you don’t feel good," Polo says. "If there is something wrong, insist on getting answers. Ovarian cancer is hard to detect, especially during menopause, which can have overlapping symptoms."
Polo advises others to tune into themselves and find doctors who don't brush them off.
"Listen to your body," Polo says. "My doctors discounted me at first, and yet I knew something was wrong. Doctors who treat ovarian cancer hear this a lot. Find a doctor who listens and who you trust."
Up Next:
Related: The Early Ovarian Cancer Sign Most People Miss, According to OB/GYNs
Sources:
Mary Lou Polo, a woman being treated for cancer by Dr. Robert DeBernardo, MD, at Cleveland Clinic Clinic
Survival Rates for Ovarian Cancer. American Cancer Society.
Symptoms of Ovarian Cancer. CDC.
Metastasis to breast from ovarian cancer and primary ovarian cancer concurrently diagnosis. Gland Surgery.
Ovarian Cancer. Cleveland Clinic.