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When Pansy Champion, of Washington, rang in the new year in 2002, she expected the year to be filled with joyous occasions like celebrating her 50th birthday in a few days and becoming a grandmother for the first time. While singing, “Auld Lang Syne,” Champion had no idea what was in store for her that summer. 

In June of 2002, Champion scheduled an appointment with her primary care physician to discuss treatment for an urinary tract infection. The urine culture, ordered by her doctor, was clear and showed no signs of an infection. 

“I thought well something’s going on, because my stomach’s getting big and the pressure is getting worse,” Champion said. She likened the pressure to a similar pressure she felt when she was pregnant. 

For three months, she watched as her stomach grew larger and larger which was confusing, because she worked out and ate a healthy diet, she said.

“I worked out, I ate healthy, I didn’t drink or smoke, I didn’t do drugs. So I’m definitely not thinking cancer, because no one in my family had cancer. So that’s the furthest thing from my mind,” Champion said. 

That September, during an appointment with her gynecologist, she heard her doctor say two words she was not expecting, “ovarian cancer.” At that moment, Champion’s journey with adult granulosa cell ovarian cancer began. 

Granulosa cell tumors are a rare type of ovarian tumors which produce hormones and lead to high estrogen levels. Women with these types of tumors can have irregular periods or bleeding after menopause. These rare tumors form within the ovary, and  account for about 5% of primary ovary tumors, according to Cleveland Clinic. At this time, experts do not entirely know the causes of granulosa cell tumors, and there is no reliable way to screen for ovarian cancer in women who do not present any symptoms. 

On Sept. 18, 2002, Champion underwent her first surgery to remove an ovarian tumor. The tumor was the size of a soccer ball, she said. Incredibly, the tumor remained encapsulated which meant the cancer had not spread throughout her body and she would not have to do chemotherapy. 

For fourteen years, Champion lived life as normally as possible while still maintaining routine appointments with her oncologist. But in 2016 a new test called a tumor marker indicated that Champion’s cancer had returned. In March of 2017, Champion underwent a second surgery to remove a tumor which had grown to the size of a grapefruit. This time, she would need four rounds of chemotherapy over three days. 

By that time, she had moved to Washington from Virginia Beach and was a board member on the Shepard Cancer Center Development Council. She wanted to start chemotherapy treatments at the Shepard Center. “I wanted to come here, and have it done here…I knew how special this place was, and I loved the facility…,” Champion said. 

Champion took her last chemotherapy treatment in June of 2017, and was declared cancer free following a tumor marker test. Champion’s celebrations quickly ceased several months later when another tumor marker test showed the ovarian cancer returning again. 

In 2019, Champion had a third surgery to remove a small tumor located behind her liver. 

That same year, Champion began taking a daily medicine to keep the cancer at bay as opposed to doing chemotherapy.

Five years later, Champion’s number’s have remained consistently, “good,” she shared. Today, she is examined by doctors in Chapel Hill whom she sees every six months.  

Throughout her journey with ovarian cancer, Champion experienced days when her diagnosis weighed heavily on her heart and soul. On those days, she prayed and remembered the good people her diagnosis brought into her life. 

“Believe me, I wanted to give up. When I was doing chemo, there were nights that I would say, ‘Lord, help me get through this night,’” Champion said. 

She continued, “I’ve accepted my life the way it is now, but the good thing about it is – so much of my life has been enriched by the people that I’ve met along the way. They loved me and some of them, I didn’t even know, but they became friends.” 

The main lesson Champion wants all people affected by cancer to know is, “cancer is not a death sentence. It is a life sentence – you need to push yourself to live.” 

Since her diagnosis, Champion has made it her mission to increase women’s awareness of an education on ovarian cancer. “I want to say, ‘ladies, listen to your bodies,’” Champion advised. 

“I did listen, and I think that’s why I’m still here,” she added. 

This is why Spotlight on Cancer is important to her. Spotlight on Cancer is an initiative by the Shepard Cancer Center Development Council to increase the public’s awareness of different cancers by illuminating trees on ECU Health Beaufort’s campus with a coordinating cancer’s ribbon color. In September, trees were illuminated with teal lights to recognize ovarian cancer awareness month. 

“Spotlight on Cancer means the world to me,” Champion said. 

“I’m thankful for what this cancer center does, and what this board does. We provide so much, especially knowledge, and that’s crucial to me,” she said. 

Champion works to educate her community about ovarian cancer, because she believes too many people do not know about it and women “wait too long to go to the doctor.” 

Champion initially thought she was starting menopause in 2002. “But then, the logic kicked in for me. I’m power walking four times a week. I’m eating healthy, but I’m unzipping my pants. Something’s not right here,” she said. “The only reason I’m still here, believe me – all the people that helped me and the grace of God.”