A Minnesota woman whose best friend died from was stunned when she was diagnosed with the same disease less than a year later.
Becky Drexler was there to support her best friend, Connie Dahl, when she was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer in April 2015 at age 51. After a courageous battle, Dahl passed away in September 2017.
During her friend’s cancer fight, Drexler began volunteering with the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (MOCA).
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After retiring in 2017, Drexler was making plans to travel, garden, volunteer and spend more time with family and friends â but those plans were interrupted by her own diagnosis in July 2018.
“I was diagnosed with stage 3B high-grade serous ,” Drexler, now 65, told Fox News Digital.
Like her best friend, Drexler dismissed her own symptoms â including frequent urination, constipation, bloating and hip pain â as common signs of aging. She put off seeing a doctor at first.
“By early summer, I felt I was getting signs from Connie to nudge me along,” she wrote in an essay sent to Fox News Digital. “Dragonflies represent Connie to me since she passed, and I saw them everywhere. I recall one afternoon being on my patio thinking, Should I go see the doctor? when a couple dragonflies in my flower garden just wouldnt leave me alone. I said out loud, OK, Connie, Ill go in and talk to the doctor.”
On Drexler’s 57th birthday, her doctor called to say a CT scan had detected masses on . After meeting with an oncologist, she had surgery four days later.
Drexler underwent six chemotherapy treatments (carboplatin and taxol) from September 2018 to January 2019.
“Those months were difficult but also filled with the support, love and laughter of family, friends, care team and MOCA,” she said. “I knew Connie was part of my team as well â just in a different way.”
Throughout Drexlers cancer fight, she drew inspiration from her friends vow to “be positive, and to live, laugh and love to the fullest every day.”
“This helped me greatly, as did attending MOCA support group meetings and talking to women who had or were experiencing the same things I was,” she said. “There were times I wished Connie was still here so I could talk to her about what I was feeling physically and .”
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In August 2020, Drexlers cancer returned. She had surgery to remove the new tumor from her pelvic area.
“We discussed treatment options with my oncologist â she provided the pros and cons of standard chemotherapy, radiation, and no treatment, only monitoring,” she shared.
Ultimately, Drexler decided on targeted radiation, with chemotherapy as a backup option if radiation did not work or if there was another recurrence. After radiation was completed in January 2021, Drexler was again considered to have “no evidence of disease” (NED).
“I then began taking Lynparza, a PARP inhibitor maintenance treatment â something that was not even available for ovarian cancer patients when Connie was dealing with her cancer,” she said.
From January 2021 until February 2026, while taking Lynparza, Drexler remained in NED status â “although there was always the concern
