A woman who had no idea she was 'riddled with cancer' ended up needing numerous organs removed.
While Louise Altese-Isidori was being told how well she looked, she and her loved ones were completely unaware that she had ovarian cancer.
Louise says she had no symptoms of the cancer, which is sadly one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among women according to the American Cancer Society.
It wasn't until Louise was urged to track her ovarian health that things started to come to light, with her fertility doctor suggesting she undergo a a transvaginal sonogram every six months.
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Another doctor said this was 'unnecessary', but Louise still chose to have it done. She opted to have it done annually rather than every six months, however, but the decision is likely responsible for saving her life.
Last October, her doctor discovered that she had a large ovarian cyst. Despite blood tests coming back negative for cancer, Louise was encouraged to have her ovaries removed.
She didn't plan on having more children to decided to go forward with the surgery, but it was before she went under the knife that her surgeon expressed concerns about the results of her a transvaginal sonogram.
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Recalling what she was told to New York Post, Louise shared that her surgeon said: "I don’t want to scare you because your test came back negative, but I don’t like the way things are looking. I need to get you in as soon as possible to have your ovaries removed."
Sadly, the surgeons fears were confirmed when Louise was opened up and it was revealed that she was 'filled with cancer'. A biopsy went on to confirm that she had Stage 4B ovarian cancer that had already spread throughout her body.
"I was in complete shock. I kept waiting for someone to say they made a mistake," Louise said of her unexpected diagnosis.
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In January, Louise underwent more surgery where her surgeon found that her there was cancer in her colon, liver, and chest.
Dr. Dennis Chi proceeded to remove Louise's spleen, appendix, gallbladder, uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes and the lining of her stomach that were all riddled with cancer.
She also underwent chemotherapy after her life-changing surgery.
Fortunately, all of this had paid off for Louise as she's now 'technically in remission' in light of her CA 125 test coming up normal. Per Mayo Clinic, this test measures the amount of the protein cancer antigen 125 in the blood and is commonly used to monitor ovarian cancer.
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In the wake of her sonogram possibly saving her life, Louise wants to encourage other women to have the test.
She told UNILAD: "My goal is to let women know a simple annual transvaginal sonogram (although not fool proof in detecting ovarian cancer) could still save your life as it did mine."
You can keep up to date with Louise's cancer story via her Instagram page.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.
Niamh Shackleton