Gadsden County issued the following announcement on Oct. 1.
The month of September is also known as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, and a Gadsden County EMT is raising awareness after her own battle with the disease.
For Michelle Barrenechea, it was a battle that no one could prepare for.
“It’s just so rare for someone my age to have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer,” said Barrenechea.
Barrenechea says she started experiencing symptoms back in 2019. Symptoms that she thought were just minor.
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“I was fatigued, my abdomen was extended, I was bloated. I just thought I was gaining weight but I wasn’t,” she explained.
She tells WCTV at first, doctors didn’t think she had ovarian cancer and then she got the news no one wants to hear.
“They didn’t think it was, but when I had to get surgery to remove the mass and they found out it was cancerous,” said Barrenechea.
She was later diagnosed with stage 1, grade two ovarian cancer.
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“Which is why I had to do chemotherapy. I had to do three cycles of chemo,” she explained.
Barrenechea finished her last cycle of chemotherapy in late December 2019. After that, she continued her work with Gadsden EMS as an EMT and then the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
“It takes a while for the chemo and for your body to get back to normal. So I was worried, but there is such a great need that I felt like I had to go back to work and help,” she said.
But Barrenechea continued her work on the frontlines even in the midst of a pandemic. She began sharing her story about her battle with cancer two years ago and organized fundraisers to raise more awareness about the disease.
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She said it’s always important to speak with your doctor if you think something is wrong.
“If the symptoms persist for several weeks it’s time to go talk to your physician or you want to go see your OBGYN. Always go yearly for your checkups,” she said.
Barrenechea tells WCTV she is officially cancer-free and hopes her story gives hope to others who are in similar shoes that they are not alone.
“After what I experienced and not being aware at all I just had to tell other people to make them aware,” Barrenechea said.
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As for what’s next for Barrenechea, she plans to become a physician’s assistant and is already applying for schools in that field.
Original source can be found here.
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