Phyllis Helms thought she had the flu.
Feeling rundown, she was treated with antibiotics for a urinary tract infection in early 2013. But a few weeks later, a pelvic ultrasound and a pelvic CAT scan at a cancer specialist’s office revealed a mass on her left ovary.
Helms was diagnosed with endometrial carcinoma, which would require her to undergo a hysterectomy.
“I think my heart dropped a little bit when he said gynecological oncologist, so I called my husband,” the Hilliard resident said. “I tried to be calm. He was at work but as soon as he answered the phone I started crying.”
Helms underwent the surgery to remove the cancerous tumor April 13. A biopsy revealed that the tumor was already at Stage III within a four-stage level. A second tumor in her uterus was also removed.
Despite the news, Helms and husband Eric kept their faith in God.
“People seem to think of that as a death sentence, but it’s not anymore,” Helms said of her diagnosis. “The whole process was a God-thing, I have an awesome doctor but I know that God led me to an awesome doctor and He cured me.”
The cancer has since been eradicated through six rounds of chemotherapy treatments that continued from May until September that year. But it wasn’t without its discomfort, according to Helms.
“I was bummed out that I had to spend my whole summer basically in the house,” Helms said.
She also lost her hair as a result of chemotherapy. Her once straight, dark hair grew back white and wavy. She colors it dark brown now.
“The hair thing wasn’t a big issue for me,” Helms said. “I just knew it was part of it.”
Throughout her ordeal, the Winn Dixie employee received encouragement from First Baptist Church Hilliard’s then-pastor Doug Kearn.
“That was another lifeline for our family,” Helms recalled. “There’s a lot of prayer warriors in that church.”
Since her recovery, she is often asked about the kind of medical symptoms she experienced. She is checked every six months and is still cancer-free.
“Unfortunately with ovarian cancer, there aren’t a lot of symptoms,” Helms added.
Ovarian cancer has four signs and symptoms, according to the American Cancer Society, that include bloating, pelvic or abdominal pain, trouble eating or feeling full quickly and a feeling of urgency or frequency in urinating.
Helms works to raise cancer awareness through her participation as a Relay for Life team captain. She has participated in Relays since 2012, but she missed it in 2013 due to her surgery.
She also plans to attend this year’s Relay on the track at West Nassau High School Friday. The annual fundraiser begins at 6 p.m. and ends at midnight.
“Everybody knows somebody that has had cancer,” Helms said. “Most people have had a family member or close friend pass away from it because it was terminal. The Relay is a great way to honor people who are living or honor people that have passed on from it. And to give back. Because the American Cancer Society is doing research, this also gives a chance to help. It’s a great thing for the community – not just Hilliard and Callahan but western Nassau.”