Casey McIntyre wished her mates and family members to listen to about her demise straight from her, and on her personal phrases, her husband says.
So on Tuesday, Nov. 14, that’s precisely the way it occurred.
“A word to my mates: should you’re studying this I’ve handed away. I’m so sorry, it’s horse (expletive) and we each comprehend it. The trigger was stage 4 ovarian most cancers,” a message posted to McIntyre’s X account learn.
“I cherished each considered one of you with my complete coronary heart and I promise you, I knew how deeply I used to be cherished.”
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 e-book writer.
The younger mother’s demise and candid message has acquired widespread consideration on social media, as has her want to erase different folks’s medical debt via 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 People. Greater than $138,000 was raised for a marketing campaign in McIntyre’s title by Friday, Nov. 17.
“I’m so fortunate to have had entry to the perfect medical care,” she wrote in her remaining 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 keeping with the Nationwide Library of Medication.
Multiple-third of ladies with ovarian most cancers develop ascites, the Ovarian Most cancers Analysis 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 tells TODAY.com by way of e mail.
“She re-entered remedy in September 2021 after 18 months of no proof of illness and was launched into residence 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 chance of ovarian most cancers, he provides.
The couple had deliberate the “medical debt jubilee” as a part of her memorial when it appeared she was going to die in Could. “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 mates and family members mourn her, they will additionally take consolation in understanding they helped destroy medical debt for folks in want because of 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’ve got finished 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 keeping with the American Most cancers Society, primarily as a result of the signs may be imprecise.
The warning indicators embrace:
Bloating or stomach swelling with weight reduction
Pelvic or stomach ache
Bother consuming or feeling full shortly
Urinary signs similar to all the time feeling like you need to go or having to go typically
Fatigue
Upset abdomen
Again ache
Ache throughout intercourse
Constipation
Interval adjustments, similar to heavier bleeding than regular or irregular bleeding
Moreover inherited genetic mutations, threat components embrace getting older, having weight problems, having youngsters for the primary time after age 35 or by no means giving delivery, 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 take a look at can detect excessive ranges of sure tumor markers which can be typically 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, beforehand instructed 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 might assist with detection as a result of an OB-GYN can really feel a mass on an ovary, however typically the most cancers has already unfold by that time, Wright mentioned. One other software 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 revealed on TODAY.com
