Strange symptom and a “weird” referral led to a woman’s Stage 4 cancer diagnosis: “Saved my life”

September 12, 2026 / 8:00 AM EDT / CBS News

Kate Ping wasn't concerned about the bloating in her abdomen at first. She was too busy running two family businesses and worrying about her son, who was about to undergo open-heart surgery.

Ping, 69, always had digestive and gut issues when she was stressed, so she chalked it up to that.

When her symptoms still hadn't receded two months after her son's successful operation, she made an appointment with her doctor. Her abdomen was so bloated it felt tender around her belly button, she said.

Ping expected to be scheduled for a colonoscopy. But the nurse practitioner she saw surprised her and ordered a CT scan.

"In my head, I'm thinking, 'That's weird. Why did she do that?'" Ping recalled.

The CT scan returned devastating results: Ping had Stage 4 ovarian cancer. The disease had spread throughout her body. Patients with Stage 4 ovarian cancer have about a 30% chance of surviving an additional five years, according to the American Cancer Society.

"I was completely shocked," Ping said. "I couldn't even pronounce any of this stuff, and I was really, really panicky. … My husband and I were like deer…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/