Viana Mehl-Laituri went in for her annual wellness exam thinking it would be just a routine visit. The 45-year-old Tustin resident had been feeling fine and wasn’t experiencing any symptoms. But during the exam, her gynecologist found a mass and sent her for an ultrasound.
Mehl-Laituri wasn’t even home from the imaging center when her doctor called. The mass was not a cyst. It was growing and needed to be removed. Mehl-Laituri would find out it was ovarian cancer, which is relatively rare — diagnosed in around 1.1 percent of women during their lifetime — and primarily develops in older women.
The doctor had already reached out on Mehl-Laituri’s behalf to City of Hope Orange County and Joshua G. Cohen, M.D., the medical director of City of Hope Orange County’s gynecologic cancer program. We spoke with Mehl-Laituri about her journey.
Tell us about your first visit at City of Hope Orange County.
Everything moved quickly, in the best kind of way. I met with Dr. Cohen, and he had reviewed everything about my case. He told me there was a possibility of cancer and I needed surgery to confirm whether the mass was benign or not. I was all in for getting it done as soon as possible. The time between that consultation and my procedure was very short — only a few weeks. I really credit Dr. Cohen and everyone on his team for pushing for the earliest surgery date they could find. Everyone at City of Hope Orange County is highly knowledgeable and motivated to help, and that means a lot to me as a patient.
What helped you navigate through diagnosis and treatment?
At the time of my consultation, I don’t think I had accepted that I might have cancer, and I still took a trip to Mexico I’d been planning. I felt fine, and I was telling myself there was a reasonable chance the mass could be benign. Even the morning of the surgery, I thought it might not be cancer until they told me as I was coming out of anesthesia that the freeze test performed during the operation was positive for cancer cells, and that the mass had tripled in size. Dr. Cohen called me immediately when the pathology report came in. I had Stage 2 ovarian cancer.
I felt a lot of different emotions, but above all I wanted to know what the best course of treatment was, and when I could start. Dr. Cohen had answers and a plan for me. And I think that’s one of the things that helped me the most during my diagnosis and treatment was Dr. Cohen’s forward-thinking and directness. He said, “This is the problem, and this is how we’re going to approach the solution.” He’s very clear, and his method of being proactive and solution-oriented really helped me stay focused on a positive outcome.
I was diagnosed with cancer a month after I finished grad school, which unfortunately meant putting a pause on my career. It also meant I was able to directly transfer all the energy I used to earn my MBA and establish my career into focusing on my treatment and staying as healthy as possible. I guess I’ve just always enjoyed the process of continuous improvement; identifying challenges and overcoming obstacles gives me a lot of satisfaction.
What advice would you have for someone at the start of their cancer journey?
Have a goal you’re working toward during treatment that has nothing to do with cancer or your health. Something that’s just for you, as a reward of sorts. Not long after my diagnosis, I decided to go on a trip after I finished treatment. So, I’d take my computer with me to chemo to plan this road trip I had always wanted to go on. I would look at campgrounds and camper vans and camping gear in between naps in the treatment room and, once I was officially in remission, I rented a custom-built 22-foot camper van, and my mom and I road-tripped up the coast to Oregon for three days, where I dropped her off at my brother’s house. After that, I continued on with just my dog to a total of 17 states over 9,000 miles, and we saw almost every state west of the Missouri River.
It was such a renewing experience. At that time, my hair was starting to grow back, and by the time I came home I looked and felt more or less like my old self. Planning the trip had kept my mind occupied while I was going through treatment, and taking the trip sort of helped me to reset back to normal life once I achieved remission.
What does hope mean to you?
To me, hope means tomorrow. When I got this really scary news about my health, I honestly wasn’t sure how much of a future I had. But I am going to get up tomorrow. Tomorrow might be harder or easier than today, but the point is that now I can focus on tomorrow. It’s that forward-looking perspective that drives me in everything I do. I see that same kind of focus at City of Hope Orange County — a focus on patients’ tomorrows. I’m grateful City of Hope Orange County is here so patients with cancer can have hope in what the future holds.
City of Hope has developed Orange County’s most comprehensive program for gynecologic oncology and urogynecologic care. When it comes to cancer, it’s Hope First. Call (888) 333-HOPE (4673).
Also read:
Talking Hope: Hope for pelvic health disorders related to gynecologic cancer
Talking Hope: Orange County mom navigates rare ovarian cancer diagnosis with hope and gratitude
Talking Hope: Cervical cancer and HPV: What’s the connection?