No woman wants to hear she has ovarian cancer, but that is exactly what Trish Kifer heard. Knowing the "B.A.S.I.I.C.S" can save your life!
Listen in today as Trish talks about how she found out about her cancer, what she learned, what she did, and what she's doing today. She has a lot of helpful information for others on the same journey.
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Your donations power our podcast's mission to support cancer patients with hope, insights, and resources. Every contribution fuels our ability to uplift and empower. Join us in making a lasting impact. Donate now! 🌟
No woman wants to hear she has ovarian cancer, but that is exactly what Trish Kifer heard. Knowing the "B.A.S.I.I.C.S" can save your life!
Listen in today as Trish talks about how she found out about her cancer, what she learned, what she did, and what she's doing today. She has a lot of helpful information for others on the same journey.
Suggested Resource Links:
Your donations power our podcast's mission to support cancer patients with hope, insights, and resources. Every contribution fuels our ability to uplift and empower. Join us in making a lasting impact. Donate now! 🌟
Hi, I'm Ivelisse Page, and thanks for listening to the Believe Big podcast, the show where we take deep dive into your healing with health experts, integrative practitioners, biblical faith leaders, and cancer thrivers from around the globe. Welcome to today's episode on the Believe Big podcast. My name is Ivelisse Page, and it's always an honor to spend this time with you. Do you or someone you know, need to hear a story of hope? Have you been diagnosed with cancer and need to hear from someone that can understand what you've been through? Well, get ready because our guest Trish Kifer is here with an incredible story to share. Trish Kifer is a writer and a stage three C ovarian cancer fighter, who is intent on helping to raise ovarian cancer awareness. She recently wrote a book called Knowing the Basiics(B A S I I C S) Can Save Your Life. She and her husband, Roger, along with their two kids live in my hometown of Fort Collins. So welcome Trish to the show.
Trish Kifer:Well, thank you. It's wonderful to be here. It's an honor.
Ivelisse Page:I always like to start the show with our guest's favorite health tip. Can you share yours with us?
Trish Kifer:Over the years, everything that I have read, everything that I have tried, it's sleep. I feel like that is the foundation of everything. And not just sleeping for eight hours, but restorative sleep because people can sleep for eight hours and be interrupted. But this solid, good restorative sleep is something I said, if you can do. One thing today, I say, just get good restorative sleep.
Ivelisse Page:It's one of my top five things as well. It regulates your hormones. It helps reduce inflammation. There's so many things that good quality sleep does that people aren't aware of, so thank you for sharing that. So let's get into it. Can you share with us how you found out that you had cancer and what you experienced during that time?
Trish Kifer:So for a while, I was just getting pains in my abdomen and I was an avid athlete. So I just thought, well, maybe I did a workout wrong, or maybe I, you know, I was doing things improperly and I just pulled something. I was having incontinence and then I was seeing my doctor, Dr. Fields and we were working through that. I saw a pelvic specialist and even that got a little bit better, so things were, you know, fine, but these pains just coming and going. And a lot of times we're equating it to, well, maybe it's early menopause. My mom had early menopause, so all these little things affiliated and it just kind of made sense. What really got me into the doctor was the sex was painful. I am very blessed to have a good relationship with my husband because if not we probably would have been in later stages. And it was just progressively getting more and more painful. I even talked with my girlfriends about it because sometimes, you know, talking about stuff like that was very taboo. I went in to see Dr. Fields again. And within two weeks I was seeing the oncologist down at Anschutz. She said, yeah, there's something going on. There's something there. I went in to get an ultrasound and then they fast tracked me into getting a CT. And then within two weeks I was getting a laparoscopic surgery. And at that point was when we found out I was stage three. I really did think my grandmother had a ovarian cyst and I was just really hoping and praying. I said, maybe it's just that maybe I have those kinds of things. And it was just, nothing. But. I think deep down knew that there was something going on. And when I woke up from the laparoscopic surgery and then I didn't even know what stage three C was. My husband said it's stage three C and he had time to look it up. And I was just like, oh no.
Ivelisse Page:Share, with those listening today, what stage three C means.
Trish Kifer:So stage one, two and three, and basically stage three C is like this little line that is right before stage four. It was still in my gut, it was still in my ovaries. And it was just starting to metastasize. The fact that we got in when we did I was very fortunate because it was growing fast. The earlier people get identified the therapies are a little bit easier. Not easier, I don't, I don't mean to say that because no matter which stage you're at, it's still pretty serious.
Ivelisse Page:Take us to that moment where you came out of the surgery, you're thinking it's just a cyst. How were you feeling at that moment? What were your thoughts?
Trish Kifer:I remember this like it was yesterday. Because the doctor had said, if we can take it out, we will. If the laparoscopic and we can see we can take it out and we'll just call it a day and we'll move on. He goes, if we can't it'll be a different plan. When I woke up from that, I'm wheeling in and I see my husband. And I just, I knew just waking up, it was not gone. They didn't take it. And, part of me, it was like, okay, there's still more to learn here. It would've been way easier to just have the surgery, just take it out and go on my merry way, but that was not my journey. And it wasn't supposed to be my journey. I knew I was in for a big life journey that was coming down the pike and it was just not in there and out and done. It was something much bigger. For sure.
Ivelisse Page:Yes. So then, after that, you went to see an oncologist. How did you put together your care team once you heard?
Trish Kifer:Dr. Fields, my general practitioner, she she is so good. She sent me I think, like the guy to see. As I'm learning, I said, if you have any kind of cancer go to that specialist? Not just a general oncologist, somebody that's all they do is gynecological cancers. And she sent me to Dr. Guntupalli down in Anschutz and it's a teaching hospital and everything is just up and coming and knowing their stuff. She goes, yep I know who exactly to send you to. And it was Dr. Guntupalli. From that point on, we just went and did step by step. And it was nice because they worked together as a team. Dr. Fields is more integrative and Dr. Guntupalli is more conventional. And so we all work together to have a game plan.
Ivelisse Page:That's amazing. That he was willing to work together,\. That's a good sign of a great oncologist that they're willing to work as a team player and not just my way or the highway. What did Dr. Fields do for you as far as a protocol versus, and you don't have to get into specifics, but what are some of the big buckets that she had you focus in on versus what your oncologist had you do?
Trish Kifer:She put it to me this way, so here it's like conventional, and I say war and peace, and there's the chemo and there's the surgery and it takes a huge toll on the body. And Dr. Fields, on the other hand, she was just like, I'm gonna be your host care. You're gonna be depleted of everything. Let me fill your bucket of what you're being depleted so that you can have a better quality life through this whole thing. We did intermittent fasting, doing the keto, mindfulness, I did Myers infusions, which is just giving me chock full of vitamins and minerals of things that I was being depleted of. And so she was doing that host care while I was going through the conventional stuff. I walked every single day. There was sometimes where my walk was basically to my bed, to the bathroom just after I get chemo. It was the worst days, day four and day five, and then I'd be up on the upswing and then I'm like, okay. And I wasn't doing cartwheels and running marathons or anything like that, but I was able to keep up with my kids and I was just able to take the therapies and be able to have a good quality of life going through that whole process.
Ivelisse Page:And I think that's something that every cancer patient going through this journey needs to know is that you don't have to suffer through this. It doesn't have to be the hardest journey of your life. It is a difficult process emotionally, mentally, physically, but when you have a care team, that's supporting you in different facets of your life. Whether it's spiritually or as Dr. Fields is doing integratively physically for you, then you can have good quality of life, even during chemotherapy, even during those conventional treatments. So that's where integrative medicine shines and a lot of people either don't know about it, or they're afraid because they don't want to introduce anything new, but it's so vital to the quality of life of a patient. thank you for sharing that. What happened next?
Trish Kifer:One thing Dr. Fields did say, you don't need to rush into chemo. But in my gut, I knew that was direction that I wanted to do. She said yes, definitely surgery that I had two large ovaries. And I just found out now that actually having the tumors in both ovaries is not very common. It's usually one or the other. On one ovary, it was a 13 centimeter by 12 centimeter. And on the other side was much smaller and was weird. The one that was much smaller was the one that was more painful. The plan was to do three rounds of chemo. Then do the debulking, the surgery, the hysterectomy, and then do three rounds of chemo. And then assess from there. I have to throw this in there because it's so important because sometimes we get in this vortex of this is what we do, and we, we can't stray from the plan, but I got to go to Turks and Caicos through this plan. And Dr. Guntupalli, I said, I got to check with you to make sure because my parents are saying no, because I had a treatment. And we had to go around this trip a little bit. And he said, no, he goes, you go live life. And that's one, thing that I have to share because you have to live the life and it can't take over. I'm not cancer and cancer is not me, but that trip was like the best medicine. I think that's important to say because sometimes we get in this we gotta stick to the plan. And what if- what if- what if, and I'm just like, no, still do this. And live your life, live your life and fold all these other therapies in there when when you can.
Ivelisse Page:That's great advice. my integrated practitioner said the same thing to me cause I kept bringing him all these other therapies that people were bringing to me and sharing with me, which I appreciated, but he had, a set protocol that he was putting together and he just said, all those things are wonderful things. But if your whole day is spent on treating the cancer, then the cancer wins. And I'll never forget that. And I haven't until this day is that we have to live life. You've got to enjoy it and that trip you took probably allowed your body to go into rest and repair mode more than anything you could have done at home, because not only were you resting, had the sunshine, but you also had those you cared most about around you to infuse you with love and encouragement. And you are absolutely right. That is the best medicine that we can give our bodies when it needs to heal. After your treatments, what happened post that?
Trish Kifer:There was several weeks I just was like, okay, that's done and then about a month after there was a oral chemo that I was able to try. The stats were getting people in remission for longer. And I was on that for 18 months and that was fine. There was a list of side effects, but the only thing was I was just heat sensitive. So I was very fortunate with that. But then this little spot in my liver, like I, would go in for monthly checkups and my CA 125 is, the cancer antigen should be 35. But what was happening is after surgery, it was at a 10 and then it went up to a 17. And so for the whole 18 months, it kept just going up little bits. So my doctor was like, no, we're not gonna treat a number. If you feel good. we're not gonna go do anything evasive. Then it got to the point where the number got high enough and we took a CT scan and it was little spot on my liver just started acting like cancer. And he says, okay, wait, let's just go in and do six rounds of chemo. So basically after the last chemo which was February of 2020, I was in remission for 18 months. Then we had a reoccurrence in October of 2021, and then I just finished May 6th of six rounds of chemo. So that was just that next, stint.
Ivelisse Page:What did you add this last time that you feel is gonna really help you to get back into that remission? What are you adding on that you might have not done prior?
Trish Kifer:So I love this because what I've learned you can't go back. I started mistletoe and heat therapy and I was doing the keto diet, and then the 18 months in remission, I kind of got a little, you know, back into
Ivelisse Page:Lax.
Trish Kifer:Yeah okay, I can't go back. But the thing that I'm doing now is mistletoe and the more I'm reading about it, it's incredible. It's an incredible thing. And I like to shock the doctors and other patients and even nurses. I was like, yeah, I'm doing mistletoe. And they're like, what's mistletoe? And they're like from the tree? It is so neat just to be able to share that. There's the chemo and surgery and, I was fortunate enough that I did not have to do radiation. But there's this other piece that a lot of people don't know about. So yeah, red light therapy and this mistletoe. So that's what I'm doing now. I'm just getting deeper immersed into this integrative part of it.
Ivelisse Page:Yes, a lot of people don't realize that mistletoe has been around for over a hundred years for cancer treatment everywhere outside of the United States. And so thankful for the physicians that we work with, with Believe Big around the country that are helping patients with this important therapy. It's a large piece of the puzzle. It's a piece of it that helps to attack the cancer. But it doesn't attack your good cells, like chemotherapy does. And even for someone, like yourself, that's going through conventional treatment it also helps to mitigate the side effects: the nausea, the lack of sleep and all those things that, come with that. It helps and tumor related pain, and there's so many attributes of this amazing plant I know, is gonna continue to help and encourage you through this journey. So I love the book that you wrote and I, I read it and I love the acronym that you share. Can you tell us what they represent to help people remember? What are those signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer to catch it?
Trish Kifer:So it's knowing the basics. My husband and I actually came up with this and we just thought, let's just take the common symptoms of ovarian cancer and let's just see if we can find an acronym with it. Because people would come to me, well, what are the signs? And I, was just like, even though I went through it and I didn't have all the signs, it was just a wonderful way just to be able to just go, okay. So B is for bloating. A is for abnormal blood in your urine. S is for stomach feels full quickly, so as you're eating and your stomach is feels full quickly. The two eyes I spelled, we did that on purpose, Incontinence and indigestion. And the C is constant pain in the abdomen and the S is sex is painful. And so I didn't have all of those. I wasn't really bloated but I had incontinence and relations with my husband were painful. Some people even though you had these early signs just to be aware that this is going on. This knowledge of just having it in the back of your head and if you have them, go get evaluated.
Ivelisse Page:Yes, because as you said, when you catch it early, that is such a huge role in overcoming ovarian cancer. And so let's switch over a little bit. One of the hardest things for me, I know as a mom and a wife during my cancer journey was to pull things way back and not overextend myself and I read that you did the same thing. Talk to us about that process and its importance.
Trish Kifer:It was a pivotal point in my acceptance of my diagnosis for sure. My first job really was my husband said I have to un-volunteer from everything. I'm very blessed to be a stay-at-home mom, and I love it, PTO and I do all those things: the room mom, being involved in my kids' school life. I was even trying to help open up a school when I first was diagnosed. I was the president of the board of that, and I had to un-volunteer from everything, like everything. I was even trying to go, well, maybe I could do this. And I had a friend of mine named Melissa, she goes, no, I got this. You have to take care of you. I had to accept the help and that's why it was pivotal because I said, you know, this is really happening. And that acceptance piece of just going I'm gonna give this everything I can. And in order to do that, I have to a hundred percent accept, help and take care of me.
Ivelisse Page:I think that's something that is common for a lot of us and especially people who are used to giving and being the ones that are providing those meals and rides. And, someone told me in my cancer journey, these wise words, and I have not forgotten them. A friend of mine said, Ivelisse, when you don't allow people to help you rob them of the blessing. And that kind of changed the perspective of me saying, oh my goodness, I'm putting someone out versus, I'm robbing them of a blessing of serving. And so that perspective is what really helps an individual to really think differently about getting help from others. That's what we're here for. We're a community we're supposed to support each other and so I'm sure your friends and family felt that to be a gift of something they could do. You had to do the hard work of healing and your husband supporting you, but they could do the work of helping to support your family. So that's such a vital piece. Explain to us what you mean when you share that you want to live a life of your highest priorities. I love that.
Trish Kifer:Through this whole thing doing things that really matter and really being mindful of the people that are in my life, the things that I choose to do. Time is so valuable. And it matters who I'm with and what I'm doing. Because we only have one life and I don't want to waste it, and having this diagnosis forced me into thinking this way. I mean, I've always been a free spirit and very optimistic and following my passions and dreams, but it went so much deeper. I was able to find my purpose and it is helping making a difference and advocating and having a connection with others and the world. Before, I probably couldn't have said those things, I wouldn't even know what my core values were, what my priorities might be. We have this, one life and making a difference and advocating and having that connection really, really matters.
Ivelisse Page:And you're doing that. I see that with what you're doing right now is sharing, being transparent. There's such power in a story and by you coming on the show today to share with us and sharing your heart and sharing what you've been through and are going through is very powerful for someone else listening on the other side. Now that you've been down this road what would you recommend or what would you have done differently at the start of your cancer journey? If someone's listening today, a piece of advice that you would give them.
Trish Kifer:I think what first comes to mind is we can have cancer, but cancer is not us And just these little gems that I got along the way, which is exercise every day, walk, move, and to really be an advocate for yourself, to empower yourself, to bring those hard questions to the doctor and that you are a part of that team because the more that the doctor knows about you and the more that you are bringing to the doctor, the better I think the outcome is. And then you find out that you're with the right doctors, because, they're embracing the things that you're bringing to them. Being able to come up with those questions that might be difficult and just know that yes, they are the doctor, but you're a part of your own healing journey. One book that I know Dr. Fields gave me that just was such an important part was the Metabolic Approach To Cancer. It was so eye-opening because at first I go, if I could just figure out from A to B how I got this cancer, then I can go, well, I'm not going to do that again, but there's no clear path of how people get cancer. The book really just goes into different terrains. I mean, it talks about hormones and balance and mindfulness and toxicity in our environment and even talks about the genetic part of it and having a balance. And so I think just giving that one piece of advice would be to to learn. Things can be overwhelming, so take things a little bit of a time. Learn more about the disease and the other conventional and integrative parts of it. Because then it just, opens up so many pathways to take, and it's not just one. And when you hit a roadblock, there's something else that opens up and that's just the power of knowledge and action. Learning it and then making an action plan and doing it. That's what I would recommend.
Ivelisse Page:That's really great. And those are some of the resources that we have at Believe Big. I actually interviewed the other co-author Jess Higgins Kelly. She did the nutrition side of that book and they do an excellent job of explaining the different terrains. One thing for those who don't have cancer and are listening, they also have a quiz that you can take that show what areas you really need to work on so that you don't get a cancer diagnosis. So it's really interesting. When I took that quiz post cancer, it allows me to focus on first the ones that have the highest number of checks on it. And then it gives you tangible things that you can do to really help you turn your health around. So it is a great resource. Another resource, I love and recommend, is Radical Hope by Dr. Kelly Turner. She shares all of the science and research that she has found on patients that have survived great odds that had a less than 25% chance of surviving. But she found out that there were these 10 key factors that attributed to them all still being here today. And one of them is what you mentioned about exercise and being your own advocate. Interestingly enough, only two of them are physical, of those attributes. There are so many pieces and I always say cancer's like a trivial pursuit piece and you have to put in those pieces for you that you need to make your body whole again. And it's finding those right pieces for you as an individual. And so Trish, thank you so much for your courage. Thank you for being bold and courageous to speak to us today about your story. I know that myself and the entire Believe Big family and those listening are going to pray for your complete healing and are just grateful for all the things that you've shared with us and taught us today.
Trish Kifer:Wonderful. Well, thank you so much for having me on it was truly, truly an honor.
Ivelisse Page:If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support our podcast, please subscribe and share it with others. Be sure to visit believebig.org to access the show notes and discover our bonus content. Thanks again, and keep Believing Big!