I’m 45 yrs young, married for 22 yrs to a great man, and I have a 21 yr old daughter.
I was born with Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy. Ended up with scoliosis from the LGMD. Then diagnosed in Feb 2007 with Stage IIIC Ovarian Cancer – had 6 rounds of chemo, was declared cancer-free on Aug 15, 2007. Went 10 months cancer-free only for a small spot to show up on my liver in June 2008. Went through 3 rounds of chemo, new cat scan showed no cancer, but had 3 more treatments to stay on
top of it. Stayed in remission 10 months again and I had a second recurrance.
Started chemo again in Sept 2009, had a severe allergic reaction on Nov 4, 2009 (almost died), finished chemo in Dec 2009. Had remission for a third time. Back on chemo for the 4th time since June 2010. Hope I’ll be back in remission for the 4th time – real soon.
Bad thing is the chemo is making my muscular dystrophy progress faster than I ever
wanted it to.
With the hand that I’ve been dealt in life I try to stay positive as much as possible.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me.
I always answer as much as I possibly can.
Dodie
Alabama
Submitted 2-27-11
This article is intended to convey general educational information and should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional healthcare advice.
Hi Dodie,
I also have muscular dystrophy and, while I have never had cancer, I do have the BRCA gene and all of the other women in my family have had either breast or ovarian cancer (sometimes both). However, I am the only one who has muscular dystrophy. I was wondering if you could tell me more about how the cancer as well as the treatment affected your MD; this is something that I’ve always been concerned about. I think you have a lot of strength, and I agree that staying positive is the best thing to do.
Amanda
Hi. That sounds really tough to deal with~both MD and cancer. I also have MD (5 children in my family and I am the only 1 known to have it so far) and this is extremely hard for me to deal with, especially since I am so young and things have gotten worse. I am scared of the future. I don’t know how you can stay positive but I haven’t gotten to that step yet. Most days I just feel like dying. On the other hand, you have a daughter and a great husband~none of which I have and probably never will. Consider yourself lucky in that respect.
Best wishes with your MD and cancer.
Hey ladies,
I had so much in common with this wonderful lady we both have / had cancer and she and my b/f both have MD. She was one of the sweetest people in this world, despite her having to deal with not 1 but 3 diseases she never let that get her down she faced life every day with such hope and such fight that it was so easy to be her friend..we helped each other so much that there was a dull moment in our lives..Dodie has since passed, but her fight and her determination lives on in each and every one of us who knew her….if anyone wants to talk about the MD please e mail me and we can talk more about it, I’m here to listen not judge…..ovcasurvivor@ymail.com