Focusing on the Positive Amid Ovarian Cancer
- Janey Godley, 63, isn’t giving up after her ovarian cancer’s return and has insisted she’ll be going on tour again this coming fall, after undergoing a new round of chemotherapy treatment, which she has just started.
- The Scottish stand-up comedian was first diagnosed with ovarian cancer in November 2021 and given the “all clear” in the summer of 2022. However, the cancer has returned and found in her abdomen.
- In order to better understand this disease, we’ve put together an entire section of information featuring top experts, which you can find here.
- Cancer patients with a positive attitude are more likely to have positive outcomes, according to Colorectal Surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Dr. Zuri Murrell.
- Dr. Dana Chase, a Gynecologic Oncologist at UCLA Health, also it’s important to try to focus on the good, stay positive, and do things that bring you joy to the degree you’re able to do so amid battling a disease like cancer.
- “We know, actually from good studies, that emotional health, quality of life is associated with survival, meaning better quality of life is associated with better survival, better outcomes,” Dr. Chase tells SurvivorNet.
Godley was initially diagnosed with ovarian cancer in November 2021 and given the “all clear” in the summer of 2022 after undergoing a full hysterectomy. Later that year, the inspirational jokester learned she had cancer recurrence, which was found in her abdomen. She began a new round of chemotherapy treatment, which she explained on social media will take place once a month for the next six months.
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“I feel devastated that I’ve carried myself on that everything was going to be fine … but you do that when you’re faced with a cancer diagnosis, that’s partly your brain goes ‘you’ll be fine,’ and then you’re very likely reminded that you won’t be. But what I’ve got to do is not let it steal the joy I have for the day,” Godly continued.
She insisted, “I’m not dying today, so I can’t let it steal that joy,” adding she still continues to get out of bed and do her daily errands, spend time with her dog and loves ones, enjoy her morning coffee, and “star getting ready for my next tour.”
“I can’t let it steal the joy of today. It’s really hard. There’s days when I just want to stay in bed. There’s millions of people like me that have to get up and drag ourselves out of bed .. and it’s hard,” Godly added.
“But I will always be in some form of treatment. I have terminal cancer, so I’ll keep getting flooded with chemicals until I can’t do anymore. But it’s not today, today is not the bad day. Today is a day that I’m going to keep going.”
In a another video post shared to “X,” formerly known as Twitter, Godley informed her fans she started the new round of chemo, to be done every four weeks, to “try and keep the cancer at bay.”
Live from hospital pic.twitter.com/eP7ty0ZFFk
— Janey Godley (@JaneyGodley) June 25, 2024
Meanwhile, we’re happy to see Godly looking forward to the future and persisting to make the best of the life she has, something she opened up about in an interview, a few months back, on ITV’s “Lorraine.”
During the chat, she praised her comedian friend Jimmy Carr for encouraging her to continue working amid cancer, according to Express.
“The year before I started the tour I got told the cancer had come back and I decided to cancel the tour. [But] my mate Jimmy Carr said, ‘Is your mouth not working?'” she recounted, replying her “mouth works.”
She said he replied, “Get back on tour!” prompting her to think, “Yeah, he’s right. What am I gonna do? Sit in the house and draw wee cats? So I decided to go back on tour and it went great and I’ve just finished another tour over England and now I’m going to go on tour.”
Coping With a Diagnosis
Godly toured until the end of May of this year, and she’s set to get back on stage for her “Why Is She Still Here” tour this coming October.
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Janey Godly’s Ovarian Cancer Battle
For Janey’s ovarian cancer treatment, she also had to undergo a hysterectomy, a surgical procedure that removes the uterus. In addition to the physical loss of the womb, the emotional repercussions can sometimes also be extensive.
Janey’s cancer was stage 3, so she needed to start treatment right away, but eventually had to have that mandatory surgery as well. What matters, however, is that she found her cancer in time, as ovarian cancer is often difficult to diagnose.
Initially, Janey was suffering from a bloated stomach, back and stomach pain, frequent urination, and lack of appetite.
“A patient can feel relatively normal and suddenly wake up with abdominal distension and symptoms that are related to ovarian cancer,” Dr. Jeanne M. Schilder, a gynecologic oncologist at Indiana University Medical Center, tells SurvivorNet.
A good rule of thumb is to go get checked out for any lingering symptoms that don’t get better over the course of a couple of weeks.
Women know their own bodies better than anyone. So if you feel like something just isn’t right it’s a good idea to see your primary care physician, at least to start. Your doctor should get your medical history and the symptoms you’re concerned about, and do a physical exam.”
As with any type of cancer, the earlier that you can get a diagnosis, the better off you will be.
Janie got the “all clear” in the summer of 2022, which led her to grow her locks into a short, white ‘do. However, the cancer was recently found in her abdomen in the winter of 2022 and she’s now undergoing more treatment.
Staying Positive Despite Adversity
We admire Jane Godley for maintaining positivity throughout her ongoing battle with ovarian cancer, which is why we’d like to point out how SurvivorNet specializes in covering the lives of people who overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Often, seeing the positive helps them maintain their resilience.
WATCH: Defining and Building Resilience
Dr. Zuri Murrell, an oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, previously spoke to SurvivorNet about the role of a positive outlook on survival rates, saying, “I’m pretty good at telling what kind of patient are going to still have this attitude and probably going to live the longest, even with bad, bad disease. And those are patients who, they have gratitude in life.”
Resilience is an important trait, but not the easiest to build. The ultimate goal is not to avoid tough times, but to be able to bounce back from them. And yet, when they are faced with an overwhelming, life-changing situation, how do people shift their view? How do they learn to see the problem as temporary, rather than permanent, and figure out a solution?
It’s complicated, because building resilience is more about your mental and emotional fortitude than anything else. According to the American Psychological Association, “the resources and skills associated with more positive adaptation (i.e., greater resilience) can be cultivated and practiced.”
RELATED: Check Out SurvivorNet’s Resources on Mental Health
In other words, resilience is not something you’re born with, which should be encouraging. Instead, after every challenge in your life, you build more and more resilience to those hard times.
You can build resilience the way you build muscle – through patience and steady exercise of the skill. Here are some lessons taken from Fischer, Runkel, and Soller, all who have spoke with SurvivorNet in earlier interviews.
- Be willing to learn. If one way doesn’t work, find a different way. If an obstacle lands in your way, build a path around it or over it. In Resilience, one of the athletes says, “You always have to be learning. Otherwise, life gets stagnant.” The more you learn, the more you grow and growth is a sign of resilience.
- Spend time with people who inspire you. Our world is filled with people who overcome challenges, and their success can energize you to overcome your own. Think about famous people who have faced adversity and did not give up Stephen King actually threw his manuscript, Carrie, in the trash because it had been rejected by publishers so many times. His wife encouraged him to keep sending it out, and he finally sold it in 1974 launching a massively successful career as a novelist. Take the time to read and learn about the lives of Helen Keller, Jackie Robinson, Bethany Hamilton, Nelson Mandela, and others.
- Allow yourself to grieve. Don’t push away or dismiss your frustration and sadness. Ben Fischer says that life can be filled with lots of crying, but “Those cries make us stronger.”
- Be flexible. Abandon the idea that there is only one solution or that you must stick to your original plan. The best solution or plan is the one that eventually works. You may need to change your original plan as the circumstances change.
- Lean in to your community. Your friends, colleagues, and family are invaluable, and when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed by a problem, their support can carry you. The Harvard Study of Adult Development is the longest study of human well-being. Many news outlets have covered its results, which show that maintaining strong, healthy relationships helped people live longer lives. Psychiatrist and author Dr. Samantha Boardman tells SurvivorNet that connecting with and contributing to the lives of other people are two of “the three wellsprings of vitality” (the third is feeling positively challenged).
Meanwhile, Dr. Dana Chase, a Gynecologic Oncologist at UCLA Health, also says it’s important to try to focus on the good, stay positive, and do things that bring you joy to the degree you’re able to do so amid battling a disease like cancer.
“We know, actually from good studies, that emotional health, quality of life is associated with survival, meaning better quality of life is associated with better survival, better outcomes,” Dr. Chase said in an earlier interview.
SurvivorNetTV Presents: Maintaining a Positive Headspace
Ovarian Cancer Overview
Ovarian cancer has been called the “cancer that whispers,” because women often don’t experience symptoms until their cancer has already reached its late stages. The symptoms that do appear at first are hard to identify as cancer. This subtlety of symptoms makes it essential for women to know the warning signs, and report them to their doctor, SurvivorNet’s experts warn.
The term ovarian cancer refers to a number of different tumors that grow in the ovary. The ovaries produce the sex hormone, estrogen, as well as eggs. Every woman has two ovaries, one on either side of her uterus. The fallopian tube picks up the egg from the ovary and carries it to the uterus for fertilization.
Many ovarian cancers actually begin in the fallopian tubes. A few cancerous cells first grow on the fallopian tubes and then, as the fallopian tubes brush over the ovary, these cells stick to the ovaries and eventually grow to form a tumor.
There isn’t just one ovarian cancer; there are many different types that occur at different stages of life. In fact, researchers have identified over 30 types, but these three are the most common:
- Epithelial. About 90% of ovarian cancers are epithelial, which means the cancer cells are located on the outer layer of the ovary. Most epithelial tumors are not cancerous, but when they are cancerous, they can spread before they’re detected.
- Stromal. This rare type of tumor forms in the connective tissue that holds the ovary together and produces estrogen and progesterone.
- Germ cell. These tumors, which develop in the cells that produce the eggs, are more likely to affect a single ovary, rather than both ovaries. When a teen or young woman is diagnosed with ovarian cancer, it’s usually the germ cell type. The good news is that most women with these types of ovarian cancers can be cured.
Managing An Ovarian Cancer Recurrence
Working During Cancer Treatment
Jane Godly’s willingness to continue working and touring during cancer treatment is something many SurvivorNet experts recommend patients do if they can continue working.
“We always encourage people to continue to work if they can,” says Sarah Stapleton, a clinical social worker at Montefiore Medical Center.
“I think it creates a sense of normalcy for patients.”
If you’re able to work, you’ll be busy, and you may not be worrying all the time about how your treatment is going, Stapleton adds.
Today I start my new chemo to see if it can stave off the cancer for a while – meanwhile I’m on tour this year pic.twitter.com/HoybyU0OMD
— Janey Godley (@JaneyGodley) June 25, 2024
Sometimes, cancer can make you feel isolated and lonely, and being around people for work can alleviate feelings of loneliness.
It’s important for you to have a conversation with your doctor before continuing to work during treatment. Ask your physician what you can and cannot do so you don’t disrupt ongoing treatment.
Remember, sometimes cancer treatment can cause fatigue, leaving you unable to fulfill your duties as you once could.
Fortunately, some on-the-job accommodations can make working during cancer treatment much easier.
It’s important to remember people with job problems related to cancer are protected by the Rehabilitation Act or the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) may also benefit others. This law allows many people with serious illnesses to take unpaid leave to get medical care or manage their symptoms.
Your human resources department should be able to share with you your options.
In some situations, employers must accommodate a qualified applicant or employee with a disability unless the employer can show it would be an undue hardship to do so. This could mean making changes to work schedules, equipment, or policies.
WATCH: Will my cancer get me fired?
Laurie Ostacher, a behavioral health clinician at Stanford Health Care, recommends cancer patients talk with their employer about accommodations they may need upon returning to work.
“Patients need to let their employer know [they’re] going to need some flexibility… Because there are going to be days when you’re not as energetic or feeling as well as other days,” Ostacher explained.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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