Casey McIntyre needed her buddies and family members to listen to about her loss of life straight from her, and on her personal phrases, her husband says.
So on Tuesday, Nov. 14, that’s precisely the way it occurred.
“A observe to my buddies: should you’re studying this I’ve handed away. I’m so sorry, it’s horse (expletive) and we each realize it. The trigger was stage 4 ovarian most cancers,” a message posted to McIntyre’s X account learn.
“I liked every one among you with my entire coronary heart and I promise you, I knew how deeply I used to be liked.”
McIntyre was 38. She leaves behind her husband, Andrew Rose Gregory, and their 18-month-old daughter, Grace. The household lives in New York Metropolis, the place she labored as a ebook writer.
The younger mother’s loss of life and candid message has acquired widespread consideration on social media, as has her want to erase different folks’s medical debt by means of donations made to the charity RIP Medical Debt.
The nonprofit makes use of the donated cash to purchase and repay medical payments owed by low-income Individuals. Greater than $455,000 was raised for a campaign in McIntyre’s name by Monday, Nov. 20, making it one of the crucial profitable particular person campaigns within the charity’s historical past, RIP Medical Debt introduced on its Instagram web page.
“I’m so fortunate to have had entry to the most effective medical care,” she wrote in her ultimate message, “and am keenly conscious that so many in our nation don’t have entry to excellent care.”
‘She tried every thing’
McIntyre was recognized with ovarian most cancers in 2019 after complaining of swelling of her stomach, her husband says. It turned out to be extreme ascites, or the build-up of fluid within the house between the liner of the stomach and the organs, in accordance with the Nationwide Library of Medication.
Multiple-third of ladies with ovarian most cancers develop ascites, the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance notes.
McIntyre underwent chemotherapies, surgical procedures and a few experimental immunotherapies.
“I’ll simply guarantee you that she tried every thing for me, her daughter and her household,” Gregory, 41, tells TODAY.com through electronic mail.
“She re-entered remedy in September 2021 after 18 months of no proof of illness and was launched into house hospice in June 2023. We had been lucky to have one final bonus summer time collectively.”
McIntyre didn’t have BRCA gene mutations that may elevate the danger of ovarian most cancers, he provides.
The couple, who married in 2015, had deliberate the “medical debt jubilee” as a part of her memorial when it appeared she was going to die in Might. “I’m completely happy we had been in a position to postpone it six months,” Gregory notes.
Her memorial will now happen in December. He says that as his spouse’s buddies and family members mourn her, they’ll additionally take consolation in figuring out they helped destroy medical debt for folks in want due to her final want.
“I’m struggling to reside my life with out my spouse who I purely adored, however Casey suffered a lot within the final years and particularly final weeks of her life,” Gregory says.
“Ovarian most cancers is crueler than you possibly can think about. In her final days we had been all in a position to inform her, ‘Casey, you may have executed all of it. The race is swum. Discover relaxation, discover peace, be free.’”
Signs of ovarian most cancers
Solely about 20% of ovarian cancers are discovered early, in accordance with the American Cancer Society, primarily as a result of the signs might be imprecise.
The warning signs embrace:
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Bloating or stomach swelling with weight reduction
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Pelvic or stomach ache
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Bother consuming or feeling full shortly
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Urinary signs akin to all the time feeling like you need to go or having to go usually
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Fatigue
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Upset abdomen
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Again ache
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Ache throughout intercourse
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Constipation
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Interval modifications, akin to heavier bleeding than regular or irregular bleeding
Apart from inherited genetic mutations, risk factors embrace getting older, having weight problems, having kids for the primary time after age 35 or by no means giving start, taking hormone remedy after menopause; and having a household historical past of ovarian, breast or colorectal most cancers.
There’s no routine screening for ovarian most cancers and no early detection take a look at.
The CA-125 blood test can detect excessive ranges of sure tumor markers which might be usually present in girls who’ve ovarian most cancers, the Nationwide Library of Medication notes.
However the take a look at isn’t ordered throughout routine checkups for ladies as a result of it’s very non-specific, Dr. Jason Wright, chief of gynecologic oncology at Columbia College in New York, previously told TODAY.com.
“Any kind of irritation, any kind of an infection, issues like fibroids, endometriosis, all of these issues could cause an elevation in CA-125 ranges,” he famous.
Common pelvic exams could assist with detection as a result of an OB-GYN can really feel a mass on an ovary, however usually the most cancers has already unfold by that time, Wright mentioned. One other instrument to search out tumors is a transvaginal ultrasound.
As a result of the warning indicators are “very imprecise,” girls need to be their very own advocates, Wright suggested. If the signs persist, worsen or aren’t getting higher with different remedies, girls ought to elevate the potential of ovarian most cancers with their physician, he famous.
This text was initially printed on TODAY.com
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