Karen Ward

Because there's a history of cancer in my family, I've always gone in for yearly checkups.

In 1998, during a regular checkup, my doctor found my uterus enlarged and ordered a sonogram. The only symptom I'd felt was an upset stomach. The test revealed two large cysts. The CA 125 level in my blood was also elevated. She sent me to an oncologist/gynecologist.

That oncological specialist told me I had ovarian cancer, and I underwent a complete hysterectomy and appendectomy. I then had eight rounds of high-dose chemotherapy. I went into remission until 2004, but then, I began having some vaginal discharge. My doctor became suspicious and ordered a CT scan, which showed two small tumors in my abdominal area. One was lying on my left kidney.

After surgery to remove the tumors, I had eight more high-dose chemo treatments. My CA 125 level went down but not into the remission numbers, so I followed that with a year of low-dose chemotherapy.

I had check-ups every two months and was fairly stable until 2006 when my CA 125 level doubled. This time, a CT scan showed another tumor. When I asked my doctor what treatment he'd use now, he said he thought he might use the same chemo I'd had before. I didn't feel good about that.

When I was a senior in college, I recommitted my life to the Lord, and I've had what I call a working faith or lifestyle walk with Him since then. So, I prayed and asked God for guidance about getting another opinion. When I saw a commercial for Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) on television, I decided to call. The week I came for my first round of tests and appointments, I remember feeling so comfortable. After talking to my team of doctors and clinicians, I started a new chemotherapy and 15 radiation treatments. My CA 125 levels went down considerably. Tests in September 2007 showed no signs of cancer. I've just finished a second round of chemotherapy, and my CT and PetScan were clear, and my tumor marker stable, so that is a wonderful blessing.

As part of my treatment at CTCA, I visited with Dr. Ellison in Mind/Body Medicine. I told him I took an early retirement from teaching in 2006 because of the cancer and treatments, and he told me I was still a teacher, just in a different way. He gave me some ideas for helping my daughter, who struggled with depression and anxiety because of my cancer, and at one point, he even suggested I write my story.

I prayed about that and decided I'd start with journaling. Then I typed up what I'd written and prayed that if God wanted to use it, He'd help me find a publisher. I went online, checked out some publishers and requested some information. One of them called to make sure I'd received the information he'd sent. I felt like that was God telling me to go forward, so I sent them my manuscript. A month later they called me again and said they'd like to publish my book. This May 2008, my book, Finding Strength in God During Life's Challenges, will be going into bookstores. My daughter even wrote in there, and I'm hoping she'll now go on to write her own book to help young people deal with depression.

God has used my cancer and CTCA -- because CTCA cares about the whole person and the person's family -- to enable me to reach out to people who are going through lots of different difficult circumstances. Interestingly, I'd never even thought about writing before all this happened. He's also brought Psalm 23 into my life in amazing ways over and over. I know it's a special Scripture for my life. And He's used things in my past, like Toastmasters, to prepare me for things now & such as speaking at a retreat at my church. He never wastes anything -- not the cancer, not things He's brought into your life or taken you through.

Through this experience with cancer, I've learned that I need to give complete control of things to God. He has plans for my life I know nothing about, and it's better if I let Him direct everything.

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