“F*ck You, Cancer — But I Say It With A Smile” Ovarian Cancer Survivor Noelle Kouris Shares Her Story

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Noelle Kouris was only 34 years old when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. So naturally, the diagnosis came with a lot of serious questions — one of those being if she would ever be able to have children.

“I wasn’t really sure being 34 and single, no children, what that would mean for my future,” Noelle said. Noelle had surgery to remove a mass from her ovary. When she went in for the procedure, she says she was really worried about what would be left afterwards. “I wasn’t sure if I’d wake up with one ovary, a uterus, nothing … I still had a left ovary and a uterus, they were able to save those parts, so I was still able to, in my future, hopefully have children.”

Noelle says that even before surgery, she tried to have a really positive attitude around her diagnosis. After the surgery, she underwent chemotherapy — but she tried not to let the treatment dampen her attitude, or keep her from doing all the things she loves doing. “I didn’t want people to be sad,” Noelle said. “…I just tried to smile everyday that I walked into the center. The nurses used to tell me that I had this light about me. And I would try to crack jokes all the time at chemo. I would just smile, offer somebody a smile, because some people were there by themselves and had nobody by their side. So, if I offered them a smile, hopefully it brought some positivity to their day. ”

Noelle also said that she was able to get through her cancer journey with such a positive attitude thanks to her mother, who went with her to every single treatment. When it comes to cancer, support from family makes a world of difference, as does a happy and hopeful outlook.

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