Toni Bessonet, a 43-year-old mom, has always lived a healthy life. She ate clean, never smoked, went to the gym several times a week, and kept up with all her annual check-ups. 

After returning from vacation in 2023, she noticed something unusual: a spongy, egg-shaped mass on her hip. Despite others reassuring her it could be nothing, Toni trusted her intuition and called her OBGYN. During the examination, her OBGYN referred her to Dr. Renee Cowan, a gynecologic oncologist at Woman’s Hospital. Dr. Cowan determined that the best course of action would be to remove Toni’s ovaries, which had grown from the size of oranges to the size of cantaloupes. 

When Dr. Cowan went in to remove Toni’s ovaries, she realized the situation was worse than they thought; one of the ovaries had ruptured. Dr. Cowan decided to remove both ovaries, her uterus, cervix, six lymph nodes, and her omentum (a fold of peritoneal tissue in the abdomen) to stop the cancer from spreading. Toni’s surgery, initially planned for two hours, turned into eight and a half hours. “That woman is an angel,” said Toni. “She actually saved my life.” 

Following surgery, Toni received the devastating news: it was stage 3 ovarian cancer. While undergoing six rounds of chemotherapy, she felt determined to have what she called a “warrior mentality.” Even on her sickest days, Toni walked two to four miles, maintained a healthy diet, and lifted weights.  

Despite feeling like this was the biggest battle she’s ever fought, she pushed through. “It wasn’t fun,” said Toni. “But in my mind, I couldn’t say ‘I’m going to lie down and let this kill me.’ I’m going to push through.”  

Genetic testing of her family revealed that several other relatives carried the gene for ovarian cancer. “I saved four people’s lives through my journey,” she said. “I’m so grateful I went through all the bad stuff so they can be saved.”  

Today, two years after her surgery, Toni is cancer-free and “not scared of anything anymore.” She continues to live a healthy life by eating cleanly, attending hot yoga, doing cryotherapy twice a week, and lifting weights. Toni reminds us all that paying attention to your body and visiting the doctor when something feels off can save your life.