Before we begin this story, you should know that Beth’s history with St. John Health goes back a little further than most of the patients that the doctors of St. John treat. That’s because Beth is actually an OB/GYN nurse practitioner for St. John Health. So she has a little more insight on some things than your average patient.
Because of some symptoms that Beth was suffering, she initially thought that she may have developed colon cancer. So she went to her doctor who recommended that she get a colonoscopy. Other than that, it was just your normal office visit, but her doctor did a Pap smear that came back just a little unusual. When her doctor suggested a closer look, Beth with her medical background asked if maybe they could do an ultrasound.
It was the ultrasound that found the mass on Beth’s ovary, and she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the summer of 2000. It was stage 1A ovarian cancer, which means that it was the earliest stage possible. Beth had surgery to remove the mass, but because the cancer was stage 1A, her oncologist, Dr. Morris, did not suggest that she go through any type of chemotherapy treatments because no scientific evidence exists that chemo at this stage is effective, and it was potentially toxic.
So instead the plan was to perform occasional scans and watch for any sign of the cancer reoccurring. Unfortunately, three years later that’s what happened. Beth had surgery again and began chemotherapy. The chemo treatments lasted for 15 months, but then just six months after that, as Beth puts it, “I could tell the cancer was back again.”
At that point, it was radiation in 2005, which was what Beth called really “just a Band-Aid.” The cancer returned in 2006, for which Beth once again was treated with chemotherapy, and then it was chemo again in 2008.
As someone with medical experience, Beth knows that she’s beat the odds when it comes to ovarian cancer. On top of that, however, she’ll add that she doesn’t plan to go anywhere any time soon. When asked why, she’d tell you, “I’ve got some goals. Like some grandchildren I need to see in school.“
When asked to describe her oncologist, Dr. Morris, Beth is quick to say, “Oh my God, he’s the most wonderful man in the whole world. I wouldn’t be where I am right now if it weren’t for him.” Although the 600-pound gorilla in the room when they meet is her cancer, she says they still “just joke and laugh and kid.”
And as for St. John, she refers to it as almost being like her “home.” “I know the people who work in radiology, the people who do my CAT scans, the people in the lab who are always drawing my blood. They really are my family. It’s a very comfortable place and a very comforting place. In short, I’ve received the best possible care in the whole world.”
