It’s 2020 and life is difficult at best with all of the guidelines in place due to the Covid 19 pandemic. In addition, you decided to sell your house and move from Magee to Mize, which means a new school for your teenage children and new surroundings, new life.
Being a wife and mother, one does not always seek help when something seems off kilter. So in October 2020 when Pam Keith saw her regular nurse practitioner for her annual women’s wellness visit she received unsettling news: she needed an ultrasound immediately but was not aware why. Before her visit Pam had noticed her stomach was distended but had no glaring symptoms suggesting anything was wrong.
Her NP made arrangements for an ultrasound at that moment for Pam; within two hours her NP phoned saying there was a large mass on her left ovary and she needed to see a gynecologic oncologist as soon as possible. “I had never in my life heard of that kind of doctor,” Keith said.
While going through the ultrasound the thought of cancer never really crossed her mind, thinking it was something else. It was not until she heard the term “oncologist” that she became concerned. Even so, her NP told her not to be alarmed because often masses turn out to be benign.
So began the steps to have the mass removed and determine what it might be. Pam and husband Ricky met with a gynecologic oncologist in Jackson who recommended “this very invasive surgery and that is the point I just lost it,” she said. The two left feeling discouraged and frightened.
Pam said that a friend absolutely insisted she get a second opinion before making a decision – “thank God I listened to her!” In three days’ time the Keiths were in another oncologist’s office who reviewed results and listened; however, she believed the surgery could be performed robotically.
This may seem an ordinary visit with ordinary information but for Pam it was an extraordinary answer to prayer. She had asked the Lord for direction, guidance and peace of mind with what she was facing. He provided in abundance.
Prior to her second opinion Pam reached out to a college friend, Dr. Stone, who happened to be an obstetric/gynecologist, asking for his advice. She and Ricky had already been introduced to the phrase “robotic surgery” as Dr. Stone mentioned it as a possibility when talking with Pam, saying he wanted to run this past one of his colleagues.
“When I went in to the doctor visit that Monday I didn’t tell her any of that. I let her tell me what her plan was, her recommendation. She started out saying ‘we could do this robotically.’ I was immediately, ‘yes Lord! Thank you, Lord!’ She tells me almost word for word what my trusted friend had told me that they did in Birmingham.” But as Pam said, the kicker was when her surgeon asked the name of the colleague in Birmingham her doctor said, “I trained under him at UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham).”
Pam continued, “From there it was just a God thing; it was just a God thing. I don’t know how big that world is but I knew she had been trained well. It gave me such a peace in my heart and I think I knew then that I was going to be okay; that whatever happened the Lord was in control. I just had to get through it but I felt like in my heart everything was going to be okay.”
Within two weeks Pam had surgery that removed the mass, which was sent to pathology – it was ovarian cancer. While still in surgery biopsies are taken of surrounding organs to determine the cancer’s stage. In recovery she found out it was cancer but they would not know for two weeks its stage or type. The tumor size was 10 cm, which is about 4 inches long.
Hers was the best case scenario. It was the most common form of ovarian cancer, serous carcinoma, and the best news was that it was Stage 1A. Typically most women diagnosed with ovarian cancer do not find out until late Stage 3 or Stage 4. It is called the silent killer. After surgery her oncologist recommended six rounds of chemotherapy and Pam agreed.
She believes the public needs to be made more aware of ovarian cancer and that she has a responsibility towards that end, which is one of the reasons she agreed to an interview. Pam said, “I thought as long as I was going in, getting my pap smear, doing my annual thing, that I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. But pap smears do not detect ovarian cancer; they detect cervical cancer. There needs to more dialogue with your provider, especially if you have unexplained symptoms going on. You need to talk to your doctor about that.” Where ovarian cancer is concerned there is no screening test, no biopsy. There is a blood test but it is not always accurate.
“It’s only by the grace of God that I got through it; I really think that. When I was in His Presence with Him with the Word, I knew there were a lot of people praying for me. I know that’s why I’m here today – the prayers of people and the mercy of the Lord.”
