Jan Chooses CRMC

JAN ASLESON – 9- YEAR OVARIAN CANCER SURVIVOR

Asleson wasn’t feeling well and made an appointment with Dr. James Christensen, her general practitioner. She was having abdominal pain and bloating when Dr. Christensen felt a mass — that was a Wednesday. By Sunday, her 52nd birthday, she woke up in severe pain and went to the hospital to discover a 6 inch mass had attached to the bladder. Dr. Christensen and Dr. Miller suspected that it was just a cyst and took her in for surgery that next morning. When she awoke in the waiting room, she heard the words: “I think she has a fighting chance.”

“It was surreal and hard to describe,” said Asleson. “I’m not sure if I was in denial. You hear so many cancer ‘horror stories’ from people, but I had faith and trust in God. There were times that fear will hit you, and it’s okay to be afraid, just don’t let it stop you from moving forward.”

Asleson initially opted out of chemotherapy, instead choosing a nutritional route to fight cancer with a raw food diet, but the cancer returned. Following the second surgery, due to the cancer returning and wrapping around her small bowel, she decided to move forward with chemotherapy at CRMC. “I initially chose Coffeyville because of Dr. Christensen — he came to my rescue and was such a blessing to me,” said Asleson. “In fact, the entire staff just genuinely care for their patients.” She completed four of six chemotherapy treatments, but it was hard on her and she decided to opt out of receiving further treatment as it was affecting her quality of life. However, her tumor markers stayed down and have remained that way for eight years.

Asleson never wanted to be just a number or a statistic – this disease was not who she was, but rather just a part of her journey