For more than two years, ovarian cancer survivor Julie S. Brokaw has written about her experiences for Cure Today, an online resource supplement for cancer patients, survivors and caregivers. She shared this special piece with the Aultman blog, which focuses on her appreciation for her care team at Aultman Cancer Center.

I recently bought several lottery tickets for the billion-dollar payouts, and if I had won, I would have been very rich! I did not win, but I am still very, very rich!

I say this first to let you know that money is not always the answer to health and happiness.

I was diagnosed by my gynecologist with ovarian cancer in January 2013 and have been a survivor for more than 10 years. My first surgery was at Aultman in early February that year, followed by chemo. I had a bald head two weeks to the day from my first chemo. My physician was Dr. Shruti Trehan, and she was amazing. I told her I wanted to be her poster child of survival for a cancer that is hard to beat. Since then, I have had two more surgeries, six more rounds of six treatments each of chemo, radiation three times, HIPEC chemo, two maintenance drugs and one clinical trial, as well as over a million (exaggerating) pokes with a needle for bloodwork and chemo.

When Dr. Trehan left Aultman and moved to Florida in year nine of my diagnosis, I was introduced to additional members of the team at Aultman Gynecologic Oncology. On my first appointment in the Timken Family Cancer Center, I knew in about five seconds this was a perfect fit for me. Nurse practitioner Kendra Valdez and all the support staff on the Aultman Gynecologic Oncology team have rallied around me to keep me going, allowing me to live a very rich life.

I have lived in the Canton area all my life and was born in Aultman Hospital. I have two sons who now live in Sandpoint, Idaho, and a stepdaughter who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as two other stepchildren who live here in the Canton area. These children have given my husband and me a total of 10 grandchildren. Did I say I was very rich? I love being Gammy to these kiddos, so yes, I am very rich.

I was an educator in Massillon City Schools and Ontario Local Schools for more than 31 years. I retired in 2015, as fighting cancer became my job. I was a teacher, as well as a principal, working mostly at the middle school level. I loved my job and had many great experiences in my career. Many of my students have become dear friends.

For fun, I like to be active, though fighting ovarian cancer can limit some things. I ski, bike, walk, garden and love to go to the lake or ocean to collect beach glass. I love to write and am a blogger for the magazine Cure Today. I have been very open about sharing my story with the hopes that others may learn from my experiences, and it is a way for me to pay it forward for the amazing people in my life. Of course, this includes my husband, Marty, and all the rest of my family.

I began this piece sharing that I am very, very rich. Aultman Gynecologic Oncology has planned my treatment this summer around all my traveling so I could see my grandchildren in Idaho, North Carolina – and in September – Utah, where I will be able to see my sisters. I am blessed to see four of my kiddos more often, as they all live three miles away! Seeing my grandchildren is the best medicine of all!

I would encourage any cancer patient to seek the best medical care, rely on family and friends and to live a very rich life despite your illness. I know that I have done these things, and truly, I am blessed beyond measure.

I won the lottery of having the best husband, family, friends and medical care. I am very, very rich.