Young ovarian cancer survivor shares her story - AmericaNowNews.com

Little girl survives ovarian cancer

The American Cancer Society reports that ovarian cancer ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women. The disease claims thousands of lives every year and mainly develops in older women, however one survivor began fighting ovarian cancer when she was just six years old.

At nine years old, Emily Knerr makes everything look easy. Maybe it's because she's already been through hell and back.

You wouldn't know it now, but this happy fourth-grader almost died.

It started the summer she was six years old. Emily complained of leg and tummy pain and lost a little weight.

Her doctor said she was fine, but one day the pain became intolerable.

Emily's mother Amanda said, "As the day went on, her pain had gotten worse and worse and worse to the point that when we got to the hospital they were giving her morphine."

Amanda watched as her daughter underwent an ultrasound, which showed a 9.5-centimeter tumor.

"It was probably the worst moment in my entire life," she recalled.

They learned two days later through surgery that Emily had cancer, and later a clear diagnosis of small cell carcinoma of the ovary.

So the Knerr family embarked on an aggressive plan. Emily underwent two more surgeries, six rounds of high dose chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant and 31 days of radiation.

It was the fight of her life, but now she's cancer-free.

Emily said, "Now I have nothing in me anymore and I feel much better; I can run do the same things as everyone else."

And that she does - there's nothing slowing Emily down.

Her mom Amanda tries to pass on what she's learned to other parents.

"Listen to your gut. I feel like that's the one thing I didn't do. I felt like I knew that something was wrong, but I didn't push hard enough. Continue to ask questions. Don't just take people's word for it. Don't take your doctor's word for it. If you feel like something is wrong, definitely keep asking," she urged.

Keep in mind - there's no reliable diagnostic test for ovarian cancer, so knowing the symptoms could save your life. Bloating, pelvic pain and frequent indigestion, constipation and the frequent urge to urinate are all red flags that you should talk to your doctor.

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