Lisa G.

How does a young person describe their journey of fighting cancer? This is not supposed to happen to someone our age! Age is on our side- we are immune! Well, I hate to break the news, but this isn’t the case. I unfortunately had to learn the hard way.

In August 2008, I got a call from my doctor’s office telling me that my pap smear was abnormal and that they wanted me to come in for a colposcopy. I kindly explained to the nurse that many of my pap smears in the past had also been abnormal and that I had even had a colposcopy done a year prior (with everything being fine). She informed me that the doctor would really like me to come in, and so I made an appointment. A few days later, I decided to cancel it thinking that I was just fine. Months passed and I thought no more about it. That is until one Saturday afternoon in early April when there was a knock on my door. It was the postman delivering a certified letter to me from my doctor. What could this be, I wondered? “It is urgent that you make an appointment immediately” were the words written across the top of the letter. Not really worrying about it, I made an appointment first thing Monday morning. It was about 2 weeks later when I was finally seen. As my doctor entered the room, I knew she wasn’t very happy with me. “Lisa, why did you put off seeing me for so long?” she asked. I tried to come up with the right answer, but all I could get out was “I’m not sure.” She went on to tell me that she really had some major concerns about my prior pap smear and that she hoped nothing had progressed. She began the exam and biopsy and when I asked her what she saw, she said there was a lesion of concern. When I pried a little bit further, she said that she thought I may have some pre-cancerous cells. Of course I was shocked, and I immediately asked her what the course of treatment was. She explained that there was a coning procedure as well as a LEEP procedure that could be done to remove these cells. Before any action was to be taken though, she needed to get clarification from the lab. I was told this would take about a week. I immediately drove to my husband’s office and explained the news. We were both somewhat frightened, but were both reassuring each other that everything would come back fine. Thoughts of this news stayed with me for about a day, but then it was back to my routine as normal. It wasn’t until my phone rang a week later and I saw my doctor’s number flash across the screen that my heart skipped a beat. I had just gotten over to my brother’s house for a family gathering. I kindly excused myself into another room where I could speak with the doctor. “Lisa- I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but your results don’t look good- I’m afraid you have cancer.” Punch number one! “Ok, I can handle this- just tell me what I need to do to fix it.” “Well, the standard course of treatment is a hysterectomy.” Punch number 2- this I couldn’t handle. “What? My husband and I don’t have any kids yet, and we were just beginning to try.” I never cried so hard in all my life. I could feel the doctor sympathizing with my pain on the other end of the phone. She gave me the names and numbers of two oncologists to call the following day. Now I had to call my husband who was not with me at the time to give him the news. As expected, his reaction was much the same as mine. How could this be happening to us?

The following day the phone calls began. I was able to make an appointment with an oncologist for the following week. By this time, the news had really set in and we just wanted this cancer out of my body. After meeting with him, he gave us the expected news- hysterectomy. Our heads hung low as we walked out of his office knowing that this is what it came down to. On our way home, we began discussing possible surrogates as this was still an option for us. However the next morning, I woke up with a feeling I’ll never forget. I told my husband that I just thought there had to be something else out there for us. The researcher in me set in, and I wasn’t giving up until I found the right answer. Everything I was coming across was stating that the “normal” cause of action was a hysterectomy. That is until a webpage for MD Anderson Cancer Center came up. At that moment, I realized I was right- there were other treatment options out there. I quickly was becoming an expert on the radical trachelectomy. They could remove my cervix, but keep my uterus intact. Wow! There’s still a chance that we can have children I thought. I also learned that the cancer recurrence rate was that or lower than the hysterectomy. What I soon realized though was that this was an extremely new procedure and not many doctors were educated on how to perform it. I was hoping to be able to actually go to MD Anderson to have it performed, but my insurance company wouldn’t allow me to do that. Instead they gave me the name and number of a doctor in Washington D.C. who was well versed in this procedure. After meeting with him, I knew that this was the way to go.

On July 28, 2009 I underwent this 9 hour procedure. Not only was he able to do the procedure, but he was able to do it robotically. This meant one night in the hospital and a 2 week at home recovery. It has been six months since my surgery, and I feel great! I can now say that not only am I cancer free, but that I may have the opportunity to carry my own children one day. I want to educate young women out there that there are alternatives to the standard hysterectomy. I realize that this procedure may not be appropriate for all women fighting cervical cancer, but it is an option for some. We need to get to those women before their fertility is taken from them.