College Student Diagnosed with Cancer After Doctors Dismissed Her: 'People Need to Speak Up for Themselves' - Yahoo Entertainment

Jessica Sanders was 15 when she started experiencing constant sharp abdominal pain that made it uncomfortable to exercise or use the bathroom.

At the time, Sanders — from San Carlos, California — was already "intimidated and scared" of going to the OB-GYN as a teenager, but she made an appointment to figure out the cause.

Now, the 21-year-old San Diego State University student is opening up to PEOPLE about being diagnosed with ovarian cancer after years of doctors telling her she's "fine," sharing the importance of women advocating for themselves and their health.

However, on Dec. 8 2021 she was called into the doctor's office and told that she had small cell carcinoma of the ovary, hypercalcemic type — a very rare, aggressive form of cancer.

Sanders explains that she regrettably spent a lot of time on Google looking up survival rates for her type of cancer and, because it's so rare, she felt hopeless with every result.

Sanders' experience also inspired her to launch Fight for Female Health, an organization that sells T-shirts and sweatshirts to raise money for the Small Cell Ovarian Cancer Foundation.