I started this page as a quick spot for those who want to know more about me. My name is Lyn Knarr, and I am 44 years old. Other names you might see me use online are “knarrly”, “lionkingfanatic” or “tlkfanatic”. I am married with three kids. All three (Brian Jr, Sierra, & Mackenzie) are now adults. I am a double cancer survivor. I also have 2 additional pre-cancers (breast and colon.)
I was diagnosed with both Ovarian Cancer (thus all the teal ribbons in my site) and Endometrial Caner in 2008. (I did not find out I was diagnosed with Endometrial Cancer at same time until 2013…they forget to tell me, I guess.) It was unexpected…after being told on multiple occasions that it was “just a benign cyst”. Even though it was supposed to be “benign”, surgery was scheduled 3 weeks after the pain started, because the “cyst” was causing constant nausea and I could not hold down food. CT scans, ultrasounds, and blood work (CA-125 was normal) all painted a picture that I had nothing to worry about. They were wrong. Halfway during surgery, they discovered the “cyst” was not a cyst, and it had already overtaken the entire ovary. The doctor, just a simple OB/GYN, was surprised, and immediately sent it down for expedited pathology. The results showed a rare aggressive form of ovarian cancer. Realizing it was far more serious than he thought, he agonized over whether to do the full hysterectomy on the spot, while I was still on the table, or to send me off to a specialist. Thankfully, the specialist was decided on, and this started my cancer journey. I was diagnosed with Stage 1C Endometrioid Type Ovarian Cancer with the additional Stage 1 Endometrial Cancer. My life since then has been consumed with doctors and surgeries. The chemo caused a chain reaction of other medical issues. And so it goes. A common question I get is how my faith in God is so strong despite all of this. It’s simple…God did not cause my cancer. Thankfully, though, he gave me signs to follow up on, which I should never have experienced at such a low stage. Ovarian Cancer is nasty…typically most cases are only caught at high stages, once it’s spread. Although my cancer did penetrate the tumor, and was already floating around waiting to infect something, it did not spread to other organs.
At first, there was no apparent link of related family cancers with my cancer. The only cancers in my family were lung (both my grandmother on my father’s side and my father, neither who ever smoked) and “intestinal” (which is what my mom told me my grandfather on her side had.) The game changed recently, however, when we found out BOTH of my grandfathers actually had colon, and not intestinal cancer and lung (which is what we originally though my paternal grandfather had) as we thought. Colon has a link to ovarian cancer. And finally, just recently, we found out my grandmother hid the truth all those years: her hysterectomy was from ovarian cancer. It is not surprising…she was in denial about her lung cancer, so why not that, too? It kinda made everything fall into place. (My grandfather on father’s side, we just recently found out through old records, also had prostate and skin cancers!) I did end up testing for Lynch Syndrome on the MSH6 gene.
I should also mention they found I had endometriosis when they did my hysterectomy. This is an important find, as I am hearing a lot of my teal sisters are also found to have this at the time of their diagnosis. Is this a risk factor or link that the doctors are missing? Why do so many patients with ovarian cancer also have endometriosis? (It also makes me wonder how long I had the endometriosis…because I had so many failed pregnancies before Kenzie, and hers was a tough one.)
I love to spend time with my family. My husband is my rock and has been by my side during all my medical ups and downs. My kids have been very brave, especially after my grandmother lost the battle to Lung Cancer, my mother-in-law lost her battle to Pancreatic Cancer, and my father-in-law just recently lost his battle to Lung Cancer, as well. Currently my dad is also battling Lung Cancer stemming from Agent Orange from his time in Vietnam.
I love anything Coca-Cola themed. I like listening to music…especially Broadway Showtunes! Just no country, please. I love watching movies, and TV shows. I like working on my own websites. Because of help I received, I pay it forward. I volunteer with the American Cancer Society, especially with Relay For Life. Most people would not even believe all the wonderful things they do besides cancer research, like driving patients to appointments and treatments, housing and feeding patients and their caregivers for FREE at Hope Lodge while away from home getting treatment, giving free make-up and makeover lessons to women going through treatment, providing wigs to those who have lost their hair due to chemo, and so much more!
As some of my above usernames would suggest, I am obsessed with Disney’s The Lion King. Obsession is maybe too light of a word. I started a TLK themed website in 1997, and it kinda progressed from there to a forum (message boards), chat, a top 50 ranking, and more. You can find the links to some of these sites at the bottom of the page.
My blog covers a lot of things. A lot of it covers my cancer and medical journey, as well as the medical issues plaguing my family. I also like to talk about crafting, technology, and lots of other stuff. I hope you enjoy reading!
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