Mom Dying of Ovarian Cancer Has Message for Women Everywhere: ‘Do Not Dismiss Your Pain’

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Nadia Chaudhri
Nadia Chaudhri/Twitter

According to the American Cancer Society, roughly 21,410 women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer by the end of this year. Of those 21,410 cases, 13,770 women are expected to die. The numbers are sobering; but they are nothing new to Dr. Nadia Chaudhri, who has known she is dying of the disease for some time. The 44-year-old mother and neuroscientist from Montreal, Quebec, was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer in June 2020, and has been candidly sharing her journey with her social media followers ever since. Now that it's clear she is terminal, Chaudhri is using her platform to share crucial information with other women who, like her, may not know the signs.

Initially, Chaudhri believed she was suffering from a UTI

At least, that's what her doctor told her last year when she first complained of discomfort.

In a recent Twitter thread that has since gone viral, Chaudhri explained the timeline of events that led to her diagnosis — one that she hopes others can learn from.

"Now that I have 100K followers, I want to talk about #OvarianCancer," Chaudhri tweeted on September 13. "Specifically my gritty story. The goal is awareness. I hope you find this narrative informative."

Clearly, many have

(Otherwise, it probably wouldn't have garnered more than 15.4K retweets and 57.7K likes.)

Chaudhri says she started feeling "unwell" back in January 2020.

"I was tired, had vague abdominal pain, severe lower back pain, and a mild increase in frequency to urinate," she explained.

After speaking with her doctor, she was given a round of antibiotics, which her doctor intended to treat her UTI — even though she didn't have the classic symptoms of a UTI.

According to The Mayo Clinic, those can range from "a strong, persistent urge to urinate" to "a burning sensation when urinating." The urine can also appear to be cloudy, reddish in color, and strong-smelling. As for abdominal pain, it usually occurs at the pelvis and around the area of the pubic bone.

Even though Chaudhri's symptoms didn't perfectly align, she trusted her doctor

In addition to the antibiotics, she underwent an endovaginal ultrasound, which "showed free fluid in the abdomen and the possibility of a ruptured left ovarian cyst," she continued.

The doctor recommended a follow-up visit in three months, and she hoped that her symptoms would subside by then.

In some ways, they actually did

"Antibiotics plus a laxative seemed to treat my ailments," Chaudhri continued. "But then by mid-February all the symptoms returned."

Perplexed, her doctor prescribed a different course of antibiotics, even though many of the classic symptoms of a UTI were still absent.

"Things seemed to improve a bit," the mother went on. But by March 2020 — just at the onset of the pandemic — things took a turn.

"By now my abdomen was bloated and I was in moderate pain," she tweeted. "My bowel movements had changed too so I kept taking stool softeners. I couldn’t see my doctor because of the pandemic. I was incredibly tired but I chalked it up to the pandemic."

March came and went, but Chaudhri was still experiencing discomfort

In April, she went on a third round of antibiotics, since her doctor still suspected a urinary infection, and she found herself dismissing all her exhaustion as simply "pandemic fatigue."

The following month, she had another endovaginal ultrasound, and this time, there were more clues.

"This one showed that my ovaries were enlarged and had moved toward the middle of my abdomen," she tweeted. "There was a lot of ascites in my abdomen too. The radiologist suggested endometriosis."

Chaudhri wasn't totally convinced, though

Before she went down that path, she decided to show her scans to her uncle, who just so happens to be a gynecologist. Little did Chaudhri know that this decision would prove fateful.

"He said I should get a blood test to check CA 125, CA 19, and CEA. These are cancer markers," she tweeted. "He wanted to rule them out before pursuing endometriosis as an option."

When the results came back, her levels were off the charts.

"My CA 125 came back at 925," she recalled, adding that a "normal" level is 0-35.

She scheduled an appointment with a top gynecologist right away

In the days and weeks that followed, she underwent more tests, scans, and bloodwork, in hopes that a specialist would be able to tell her more.

Unfortunately, though, it wasn't the news she wanted to hear.

"She said 24 of 25 doctors in the tumour board said I had cancer," Chaudhri shared, adding that her doctor was still "holding out" for endometriosis.

Two weeks later, a laparotomy (abdominal surgery) would confirm her worst fears.

"They cut me open from sternum to pubic bone," tweeted Chaudhri. "Indeed, I had cancer."

On June 10, 2020 — roughly six months after her symptoms first appeared — Chaudhri underwent a four-hour surgery to remove the cancer. That was followed by grueling rounds of chemo — six cycles total, once every three weeks.

At first, her body's response looked good

Chaudhri's CA levels dropped, she was enrolled in a clinical trial of immunotherapy treatments, and she hoped for the best.

But in the weeks that followed, the treatments took their toll on her body. Her hemoglobin levels were down, and her CA 125 levels started to creep up.

It was, as Chaudhri put it bluntly, "Not a good sign."

"It crept up slowly," she explained. "But because this started happening within 6 months of the end of chemo it meant that my cancer had a label: platinum resistant. It had learned to evade the platinum-based chemo."

Still, Chaudhri pushed on

She remained enrolled in the clinical trial until March 2021, when she developed a bowel obstruction that disqualified her from being in the trial. She crossed her fingers when she was prescribed other medicines to treat them — none of which turned out to work — and struggled through "more bowel obstructions than I'd care to count."

The most recent bowel obstruction still hasn't opened, which is why she's had to be moved to palliative care.

The reality of her life now is far from what it used to be

"I can’t poop or pass gas," she bluntly admitted. "I can’t eat. I’ve been on IV fluids for two weeks."

She also can't get out of bed without assistance and is prescribed morphine every four hours to manage her pain. And yet she tries her best to make each day a little bit brigher, however she can.

Usually, that involves painting or drawing, or enjoying a visit from a loved one.

"My official diagnosis is high-grade serus epithelial, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer," Chaudhri continued in her viral tweet. "Ovarian cancer comes in many forms and treatments are more advanced for some forms than others."

Chaudhri knows her time on Earth is now limited

In fact, that's why she made the bold decision to sit her 6-year-old son down in May and gently explain to him that she was dying.

Chaudhri is staring death in the face and doing it with a bravery that few could match. But in sharing her story with the world, she hopes to not just spread awareness about the symptoms, but also highlight how much more needs to be done in the field of cancer research,

"The bottom line is that ovarian cancer research is underfunded," Chaudhri tweeted. "We also need more awareness of symptoms because early detection improves prognosis dramatically."

"I hope you found this thread helpful," she wrote, before urging her followers to, "Know your bodies. Pay attention to fatigue and changes in bowel/urinary tract movements. Make sure you understand all the words on a medical report. Do not dismiss your pain or malaise. Find the expert doctors."

Finally, the thread ends on a powerful, if bittersweet, note about life and death

"Although this has been the most frightening time of my life it has been filled with brightness and love," Chaudhri assured. "I have never felt so much love. I have built legacies through the immense generosity of family, friends and a tribe of supporters who have bolstered me into the clouds. I will feast in my new life and welcome everyone to my forest table."

"I am not afraid," she said.

Her story has received overwhelming response from women across Twitter

"If a #Thread could win a humanitarian award for health awareness & advocating for yourself it’s this one by @DrNadiaChaudhri," tweeted one woman.

"If you read any thread at all today, make it this one," urged another woman. "… And if the doctor is writing you off as 'anxious' or tells you to simply go lose weight, go to a different doctor."

Women around the world are now sharing Chaudhri's story far and wide — in part to spread awareness about the realities of ovarian cancer, but also to honor the bravery of a woman who is living out her final days with bravery, dignity, and most of all, compassion.

Kaitlin Stanford