Urgie from Ethiopia Overcame Ovarian Cancer after Timely Medical Intervention and Treatment at Manipal Hospital, Delhi

When 37 years of Urgie began experiencing heavy bleeding and bloating after the birth of her first child, doctors repeatedly wrote her symptoms off as postnatal depression. It was only when she insisted on surgery that she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. There are many different types of ovarian cancer, including rare borderline ovarian tumors. A major symptom of this is feeling tired all the time, unfortunately for many women, these symptoms are generally ignored as a natural part of the aging process. In a lot of cases, patients that have ignored symptoms of this deadly illness have had a catastrophic impact on their health.

Her visits to the doctor in Ethiopia confirmed cancer; her doctor advised her to go in for ovarian surgery for the removal of the cancerous tumor. After further consultations and getting multiple doctors’ opinions, her surgery was scheduled; thankfully, her surgery was a success: “I was in surgery for around six hours. I had a full hysterectomy and appendectomy. They also removed tumors in my lower bowel,” recalls Urgie. “My doctor did leave my uterus in case I wanted In Vitro Fertilization at a later date, using donor eggs.”

Almost a month after her surgery, Urgie’s doctors gave her some grave News: “After a four-week recovery, I had a meeting with my doctor. It was quite a bit of a shock because they told me that I had a slow-growing form of ovarian cancer called borderline ovarian tumor”, said Urgie, “the doctor recommended that I go in for chemotherapy treatment.” After carefully evaluating her medical situation, Urgie decided to get in touch with Vaidam Health for assistance. “At this point, I was in need of assistance and thankfully things worked out with Vaidam,” said Urgie. Her case manager explained the entire procedure of traveling to India and helped her choose the best oncologists in India and hospital where she would get her cancer treatment: “the process at first seemed quite confusing, but after speaking to Sapna (Case Manager) things became extremely clear.

Arriving in India, Urgie met with renowned medical oncologist, Dr. Bijoy Kumar Nayak, MD at Manipal Hospital in Delhi, one of the top cancer hospitals in India. “They were wonderful,” said Urgie. “I met with Dr. Nayak for two hours and asked him all of the questions that I had. I left there feeling confident, even though everything was blind to me, but I just felt good about it.”

Dr. Nayak suggested Urgie have treatments every week instead of every 3 weeks, the usual treatment. The reason for this treatment interval was that it would be less toxic and better tolerated. Over the next few weeks, Urgie underwent six rounds of chemotherapy: “I would be sick, feeling groggy and very tired; the following week I would have my blood taken, on Thursdays I would see the doctor, and on Fridays I was back getting chemo.”

After almost six weeks of chemotherapy, a CT scan confirmed that Urgie’s cancer was in regression. “I was over the moon, just hearing this News drastically lifted my energy levels,” she said.

Now back in her home country, Urgie now sends her love, “I’m slowly returning to my previous life now, I would like to say a big thank you to the team at Manipal Hospital who was very kind and patient with me. I would also like to thank Vaidam Health and my case manager, without whom my treatment would not have been possible.”

Vaidam would like to wish Urgie a quick and wholesome recovery and a healthy life forward.