Page 8 - Wayne Dispatch Pages

SURVIVOR, Continued from page 6
ties as Mayor to fulfill and countless
meetings to attend.”
“My mother has been amazing
she cleaned my house and did my
laundry for 6 weeks while I was re-
covering from surgery and she made
me lots of mac and cheese, kept me
company, made me laugh and she
was my cheerleader.”
“My family is so wonderful, each
of my four siblings took time off
work to go to a chemo treatment
with me, we still had some laughs at
least up until I fell asleep from the
pre-chemo drugs,” says Rhaesa. “I
am very fortunate to have such a lov-
ing family, their support has meant Natalie up and walking for the first time
everything to me.” after surgery pictured with her mother
Rhaesa recalls walking into the
infusion center for her first chemo who is also walking well after hip re-
treatment and on the wall there was placement.
a sign that read “You Never Know final chemotherapy treatment on Au-
How Strong You Are Until Being gust 16th. She will be having a CAT
Strong Is The Only Choice You Have.” scan first week of September and see
She says it’s kind of how she ap- her oncologists for the next steps in
proached her diagnosis. “I just say her treatment. Prior to Rhaesa’s sur-
to myself ‘Just Do It and Get gery her Cancer Antigen number (CA-
Through It’ and then I move on to the 125) was at 703, normal range is
next step in my treatment,” says between 0-35. After surgery her CA-
Rhaesa. “To have two cancer diag- 125 was down to 69 and after com-
noses in less than two months is in- pletion of chemo her CA-125 is now
teresting, sad, and hard to believe,” at 9. The doctors are very pleased
remarks Rhaesa. “But it’s also a re- with the outcome of her surgery and
lief that my brother and I can look chemo treatments and will continue
forward to life without cancer.” to monitor Rhaesa for the next 5
Despite it all, Rhaesa believes years.
brighter days are indeed ahead. She In hopes of helping others,
believes that God doesn’t waste pain Rhaesa donated her mass and repro-
and that what she went through may ductive organs to the Cancer Re-
benefit others. She would encourage search Center at St. Joseph Mercy
you to be seen by a physician if you Hospital and will be getting genetic
feel something isn’t right. “Insist on testing to help further their research.
getting bloodwork, ultrasounds or September is Ovarian Cancer
whatever tests necessary, nobody Awareness Month. According to the
knows your body better than you, if Center for Disease Control and Pre-
something seems off, please go get vention (CDC), ovarian cancer is the
checked.” second most common gynecologic
Rhaesa completed her 6th and cancer in the United States.

8 · September 2022 · The Wayne Dispatch