A Minnesota woman whose best friend died from ovarian cancer was stunned when she was diagnosed with the same disease less than a year later.
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she → die → disease
Becky Drexler was there to support her best friend, Connie Dahl, when she was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer in April 2015 at age 51.
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she → support → age
After a courageous battle, Dahl passed away in September 2017.
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Dahl → pass → September
During her friend's cancer fight, Drexler began volunteering with the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (MOCA).
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Drexler → begin → Alliance
After retiring in 2017, Drexler was making plans to travel, garden, volunteer and spend more time with family and friends – but those plans were interrupted by her own diagnosis in July 2018.
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plans → retire → July
"I was diagnosed with stage 3B high-grade serous ovarian cancer," Drexler, now 65, told Fox News Digital.
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Drexler → diagnose → Digital
Like her best friend, Drexler dismissed her own symptoms – including frequent urination, constipation, bloating and hip pain – as common signs of aging.
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Drexler → dismiss → aging
She put off seeing a doctor at first.
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She → put → doctor
"By early summer, I felt I was getting signs from Connie to nudge me along," she wrote in an essay sent to Fox News Digital.
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she → feel → Digital
"Dragonflies represent Connie to me since she passed, and I saw them everywhere.
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I → represent → them
I recall one afternoon being on my patio thinking, ‘Should I go see the doctor?’ when a couple dragonflies in my flower garden just wouldn’t leave me alone.
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dragonflies → recall → me
I said out loud, ‘OK, Connie, I’ll go in and talk to the doctor.’
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I → say → doctor
On Drexler's 57th birthday, her doctor called to say a CT scan had detected masses on both ovaries.
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scan → call → ovaries
After meeting with an oncologist, she had surgery four days later.
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she → meet → surgery
Drexler underwent six chemotherapy treatments (carboplatin and taxol) from September 2018 to January 2019.
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Drexler → undergo → January
"Those months were difficult but also filled with the support, love and laughter of family, friends, care team and MOCA," she said.
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she → fill → family
"I knew Connie was part of my team as well – just in a different way."
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Connie → know → way
Throughout Drexler’s cancer fight, she drew inspiration from her friend’s vow to "be positive, and to live, laugh and love to the fullest every day."
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she → draw → fullest
"This helped me greatly, as did attending MOCA support group meetings and talking to women who had or were experiencing the same things I was," she said.
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she → help → things
"There were times I wished Connie was still here so I could talk to her about what I was feeling physically and emotionally."
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I → be → what
In August 2020, Drexler’s cancer returned.
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cancer → return → August
She had surgery to remove the new tumor from her pelvic area.
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She → have → area
"We discussed treatment options with my oncologist – she provided the pros and cons of standard chemotherapy, radiation, and no treatment, only monitoring," she shared.
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she → discuss → chemotherapy
"I was diagnosed with stage 3B high-grade serous ovarian cancer."
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I → diagnose → cancer
Ultimately, Drexler decided on targeted radiation, with chemotherapy as a backup option if radiation did not work or if there was another recurrence.
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radiation → decide → option
After radiation was completed in January 2021, Drexler was again considered to have "no evidence of disease" (NED).
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Drexler → complete → disease
"I then began taking Lynparza, a PARP inhibitor maintenance treatment – something that was not even available for ovarian cancer patients when Connie was dealing with her cancer," she said.
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she → begin → cancer
From January 2021 until February 2026, while taking Lynparza, Drexler remained in NED status – "although there was always the concern in the back of my mind about when I would recur again."
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I → take → mind
In winter 2026, after experiencing gastric symptoms, Drexler underwent a PET scan.
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Drexler → experience → scan
The scan revealed a tumor around her small intestine that had grown large enough to require surgery.
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that → reveal → surgery
"Once the tumor was removed, it was confirmed to be a recurrence of my ovarian cancer," she said.
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she → remove → cancer
"After recovering from surgery, I had another PET scan, which indicated a couple of spots were still present."
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couple → recover → spots
In May 2026, Drexler began an 18-week treatment cycle including carboplatin, taxol and avastin, which is expected to be completed at the end of September.
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which → begin → September
"I had a PET scan halfway through (late July), which indicated the treatment is working," she shared.
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she → have → July
"We were happy to learn that the spots were no longer visible and no new spots had appeared."
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spots → learn → ?
Depending on the results of her next PET scan, Drexler said her next treatment will likely be an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) maintenance plan, a recently-approved targeted cancer therapy that has shown "exceptional results."
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that → depend → results
Throughout her cancer journey, Drexler has continued volunteering with MOCA, serving on its board of directors, participating on committees and reviewing grants for ovarian cancer research.
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Drexler → continue → research
"It does make me think back to when Connie was dealing with her cancer and the treatments that were not available to her but are now available for me and other women," Drexler said.
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Drexler → make → me
"I believe I am still here because of the advancements in treatments.
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I → believe → treatments
Developing a reliable early detection test for ovarian cancer remains one of the most critical research goals."
Symptoms to watch for
Ovarian cancer was once known as the "silent killer," meaning that women would get it and not know anything until the disease was in advanced, more aggressive stages, according to Brian M. Slomovitz, M.D., director of gynecologic oncology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Florida.
About 75% of women are diagnosed with stage 3 or stage 4 disease, according to the doctor.
In recent years, researchers have identified that ovarian cancer actually does have symptoms, noted Slomovitz, who is also deputy director of the Braman Comprehensive Cancer Center.
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who → develop → Center
…and 13 more, not listed.
