Donna Rosin

My name is Donna Rosin. I have always considered myself very healthy. I rarely got sick. I was exercising daily, I ate well, and had only been in the hospital for the birth of my 3 children. In 2010, when I was 44, I noticed I was tired. This seemed normal with three children, two dogs, a house, a husband, and an active social life. In May, I noticed two enlarged lymph nodes in my groin. I went to the doctor, and I remember his exact words, "I see this all the time...only one of every thousand enlarged lymph nodes ends up being something serious." Being a healthy person the thought of “something serious” was not even a possibility.

The news came that the lymph nodes were a symptom of metastatic ovarian cancer. My world came to a standstill.  After blood tests, scans, and meeting a gynecological oncologist, the reality of a cancer diagnosis was beginning to sink in. However, it was surreal. 

My gynecologic oncologist had a straightforward plan. I was to have surgery, leave the hospital a few days later, rest, and then start chemotherapy. I felt strong and brave. I felt like a warrior. A warrior who was going to do anything to get back to my good life.  I was also so scared as everything was uncertain. I was diagnosed with stage 3C ovarian cancer.  I was in the hospital for 10 days with unexpected complications and by the time I got home, my “healthy” body was thin and weak.

I had frontline chemotherapy and my body responded to the treatment. Physically I was miserable; however, I persevered by accepting daily help, weekly meals, and rides for my kids. My community rallied around me to the finish line. I remember feeling that I had conquered the biggest challenge of my life and having survived, I felt there was no way the cancer would come back. I thought I would just move on, sweep this chapter under the rug, and get back to my "good life!”

What I did not realize, is that my “good life” would never be the same because I was not the same. In fact, my mental recovery was harder than my physical one. I was different and I had to begin to examine how I was going to incorporate ovarian cancer into my life. 

My cancer story did not end there. Eleven months after frontline treatment I was again starting chemotherapy. I spent the next three years receiving many different chemotherapy agents to treat my persistent disease. I thought I would always need to be on some form of chemotherapy to keep my cancer stable. It was not until I had a second surgery, in 2014, to remove a cancerous lymph node, that I have been healthy. 

After my diagnosis, I found out I have the BRCA mutation. There was no history of breast or ovarian cancer in my family. My mother died of pancreatic cancer and testing was not available at that time. My father passed along the BRCA mutation to me. While this was surprising, I have had the opportunity to share this valuable information with my family and potentially spare them a cancer diagnosis. 

Through the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, I am a facilitator for the Survivors Teaching Students program. The program provides educational presentations to health care professional students, communicated by survivors. Without a screening tool or early detection test, it is important that health care professionals have ovarian cancer on the list of differential diagnoses for patients. We also share our powerful stories which help solidify our message. I am a mentor for many patients providing empathy, understanding, and insight into navigating this disease. Lastly, I volunteer at the Northwestern Cancer center as a greeter.  

I have been lucky to have a great team of family, friends, health care professionals and other survivors to support me. I am healthy now and I also know the reality of recurrence. I have learned to live life with the appreciation of today's good health and have hope that tomorrow will be the same. In the last 12 years I have been present in my life events both big and small. My ovarian cancer is one part of my “good life.” This perspective takes practice. I do not consider myself a survivor. I am in a process of surviving my life with the unpredictability of ovarian cancer. 

    You can find Donna on Instagram at @jonnarosin and on Facebook at Donna Lasin Rosin.