Becky

Becky, 26 Years Old

I first went to my doctor because I was spotting and I was having a lot of pain during and after sex. After my family doctor examined me, he told me that I had vaginitis and not to worry. While I was there, he reminded me that it was time for my yearly pap smear so I went ahead and scheduled that appointment.

I had my pap smear done and around a week after that my doctor called me at home to let me know that he had found some cells that weren’t supposed to be there. He said that I would need to have another test done. I had my biopsy done not too long after that. I was really, really nervous waiting for the results. When my doctor finally called, he told me that everything was fine. I was really happy to hear this but I told him I still didn’t understand why I was having the spotting and pain. He said that this was probably due to irregular periods and prescribed something for me to make my periods more regular.

Unfortunately, my bleeding and pain never went away - they just got worse and worse. Months later, I had my doctor refer me to an OBGYN because I was tired of dealing with it. It took a while to get in to see her, but I am so glad that I did.

My new OBGYN did an exam and told me that my cervix was bleeding an awful lot. She told me that she wanted to schedule me to have a D&C and a LEEP procedure so that she could rule out me having cancer. Luckily, I didn’t have problems having either thing done. It took me about a week to get my results back.

I had been out of town the week following my D&C and LEEP and when I got back, there was a message from the doctor’s office. I called and they said I needed to come in right away. They refused to tell me anything over the telephone. That made me really nervous!

My husband and I went to the doctor’s office that afternoon. When the doctor said that I had cancer I was pretty much in shock. I did hear her say that I would need a hysterectomy to get rid of the cancer. She said that she could handle the hysterectomy but also referred me to a gyno-oncologist.

I spend the rest of the day angry and upset that I had cancer. But I was determined to do whatever I had to in order to get rid of it, even if that meant having a hysterectomy.

At my initial appointment with the gyno-oncologist, I figured that I would be scheduled for my hysterectomy right away. It did not turn out that way at all. My cancer doctor informed me that the tumor were too big to operate on. I would have to have radiation done to shrink the tumors and then maybe I could have a hysterectomy.

During my first visit with the radiation doctor, he told me that I should have chemo as well. He recommended I get a second opinion. I did this and was again given the opinion that I should have chemo along with the radiation. So on Monday through Friday I had external radiation and I had chemo on Fridays for four hours. The treatments were pretty hard on me. I got really sick – I threw up a lot and had diarrhea. The radiation burned my skin so badly that I had open sores. Surprisingly, I never lost my hair from the chemo.

I had to have a radiation implant. It turned out to be a surgery in which they implanted two rods alongside my vagina. I was forced to lie flat on my back for four days. The worst part was having the rods removed!

I have been free of Cervical Cancer for a year and a half now, although I am still having some problems from the radiation treatment. I am starting to feel much better overall.

My pap smears every three months still make me really nervous. It’s all been hard, but it could have been so much worse.

Lessons Learned from Becky’s Story

· Abnormal vaginal bleeding should be addressed as soon as possible.

· Painful sex is not normal. You should see your doctor to find out why you are feeling pain.

· If your doctor cannot find the source of your problem, find a new doctor.