A US woman who had no clue she was ‘riddled’ with cancer had to have numerous organs removed in order to save her life.
Louise Altese-Isidori said she was often complemented on how well she looked, and lived a healthy, happy lifestyle without any suspicious symptoms. Little did she and her family know, however, that she was suffering from ovarian cancer.
As per the American Cancer Society, ovarian cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among women, and Louise’s illness went undetected for a long time since she didn’t have any troubling symptoms.
In fact, it was only after the 50-year-old took her fertility doctor’s advice in undergoing a transvaginal sonogram every six months that she found out something was wrong. Another doctor told her this was “unnecessary”, but Louis figured it was “no big deal” to get it done annually.
And that was a decision that most likely saved her life.
In October, 2024 Louise’s doctor spotted a large cyst on her ovary during a routine visit. It hadn’t caused her any discomfort at all.
Due to the cyst’s size, her doctor ordered an Ova1 blood test to check if it was cancerous. The results came back negative, just as they did in a second test a month later.
Yet the cyst remained, and Louise was advised by her doctor to have her ovaries removed. When the surgeon who was to perform the procedure saw her ultrasound, he suspected something was awry.
“I don’t want to scare you because your test came back negative, but I don’t like the way things are looking,” he told Louise, as per the New York Post. “I need to get you in as soon as possible to have your ovaries removed.”
On December 20, Louise went in for what she thought was to be a routine procedure. Wen she woke up, though, she was given a damning diagnosis.
“When he went in, he was able to see that I was filled with cancer,” she explained.
A biopsy confirmed that Louise had Stage 4B ovarian cancer, which meant the disease had already spread to other organs.
“I was in complete shock. I kept waiting for someone to say they made a mistake,” Louise said.
Just days later, Louise had a spot at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. She was placed under the care of Dr. Dennis Chi, head of the hospital’s Ovarian Cancer Surgery Section.
“I feel very lucky in an extremely unlucky situation, because all of my stars aligned,” Louise said.
“When he went in, there was cancer in my colon, my liver, it was already in my chest — and I had felt completely fine,” she added.
Dr. Chi was forced to remove her spleen, appendix, gallbladder, uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes and the lining of her stomach, which had all been riddled with cancer. Part of her liver and colon were spared, but she required a colostomy bag attached to a small opening in her lower abdomen where waste could exit her body.
Ultimately, Louise was hospitalized for 18 days. “I would tell myself, ‘Alright, enough already. Enough of the pity party. We have a lot left to do,’” she said.
She then began chemotherapy around a week later, describing that phase of treatment as “mental warfare.”
Louise recently underwent surgery to remove her colostomy bag. Then she received the best news yet: Her CA 125 test — measuring a protein often elevated in women with ovarian cancer — had returned to normal levels.
“I’m technically in remission,” she explained.
“My hair is starting to grow back, and I feel good.”
According to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, the chance of recurrence can be as high as 95% for Stage 4 patients.
“To think that at seven months I won and I beat it for life is silly. But today I’m OK,” she said. Louise also said that she’s taking a PARP inhibitor pill, a type of targeted therapy, intended to delay or stop the cancer’s return.
“I want to redefine the face of stage four cancer,” she said. “I want people to know that you could still have a full life — even with a colostomy bag.”
“It’s important to remember that there’s a lot of hope,” she added. “It’s not a dead end.”
“Maybe I took one for the team [and] now there’s a woman behind me who doesn’t have to,” she added.
Louise had no symptoms, but there are often warning signs women should watch out for. These include: bloating, fatigue, feeling full quickly, changes in bowel or bladder habits and pelvic, back or abdominal pain.