Stephanie Virgin had been married for about three years and working as a realtor when she and her husband decided it was time to start a family. The couple had always wanted to be parents. “So I went to my annual appointment with my ob/gyn and told her we were ready to start trying to have kids, and that I’d stopped taking my birth control,” Stephanie recalls.
Her gynecologist’s reply: “Great. I’ll either see you in a year. . . or I’ll see you when you’re pregnant.”
Read MoreLooking back, Virgin says, “I could explain away every single one of my symptoms.” Actually, she admits, “I didn’t even realize they were symptoms.”
Stephanie was finally uncomfortable enough to visit her primary care physician, who suspected a large ovarian cyst. Surgery revealed that she had ovarian cancer. Now, years later, Stephanie has been successfully treated, and she and her husband are the happy parents of two boys they adopted through foster care.
Her message to women: "If you don't feel right, call your doctor. If your doctor doesn't listen, get a second opinion. You need to know that you are your own best advocate."
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