41 www.CharlestonWomenPodcast.com | www.ReadCW.com | www.Instagram.com/CharlestonWomen In 2009, Shannon Routh was diagnosed with ovarian cancer as a healthy, relatively-recently married 32-year-old with no children. Leading up to her diagnosis, she had abdominal pain that was sharp and unlike anything she had experienced before. She had been traveling overseas and thought her symptoms could be related to new foods, and she also suffered from PCOS, so she was not overly alarmed. Once she arrived home though, the pain became so intense that it sent her to her knees. She immediately made an appointment with her OB-GYN. After a transvaginal ultrasound revealed a cyst, and a CA125 blood test showed slightly elevated numbers, she was referred to a gynecologic oncologist. While waiting on that appointment, she ended up on the floor in the E.R., begging God to take her because the pain was so intense. She was hospitalized until her oncology appointment where she was told that there were a range of options to explain her symptoms, ranging from relatively benign to cancer. She had surgery a few weeks later, and as she was getting released from the hospital five days after surgery, the doctor came in with the news: the pathology was back and she had a rare and highly aggressive form of ovarian cancer. Treatment required that she be scheduled ASAP for a radical hysterectomy, followed by chemotherapy. Routh knew in that instant she had cancer and would not have children. She buried her head in the covers and cried. It took a few days for her to process this news before she described turning “robotic” and getting ready for the battle. Routh has always been passionate about advocacy and active in causes and fundraisers like, Susan G. Komen and Autism Speaks (no connections to either), to name a couple, but now, when she had a connection to something, she was not able to find anything substantial Teal Divas Supporting ovarian cancer survivors Lowcountry-wide BY EMILY MOODY Charleston Women in Wellness
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjcyNTM1