Cervical Cancer Survivor

About a year ago I had a routine exam done and at that time and had joked around with my doctor that I have early symptoms of menopause. I was only 39 and no history in the family. I stopped having periods on my 40th birthday, 6 months after my check up.

In November I returned to the doctor and after a negative pregnancy test he tested my FSH level. The nurse contacted me two days later with my level (high 900's) and told me that I was in menopause! I felt great until about February and March, when I had 2 heavy periods. I contacted my doctor for a check-up and remember crying to the receptionist that I didn't feel right and I need to be seen as soon as possible. The doctor was concerned about the bleeding so he rechecked my FSH level and scheduled me for an intrauterine sonogram that week. It indicated my level was still too high for me to have any bleeding, and proceeded with the exam. He had found "pockets" in my uterus that adhered themselves to the muscle wall, causing the heavy bleeding episodes. He also did a biopsy and stated that he did not see any visible pathology.

He called me a week later (while he was on vacation) to break the news to me....he said "I am beyond words and absolutely shocked that we found early cancer cells in the biopsy". He went on to explain how normal tissue looks and that mine had no where resembled any pathology. His office promptly set me up with a Gyno-Oncologist and scheduled a hysterectomy. I have recently completed my first round 5 weeks of radiation and 5 chemo treatments, and have a 50/50 chance of more chemo.

The miracle to this story is the detection. My tumor was the size of a small eraser head, the cells undetected to the eye, and by the grace of God he had my doctor biopsy the correct site! Sometimes you look for the reason it happened to you, and try to make sense of it, but all I can remember is an article in a magazine from a couple of years ago that said, " A women's period is her red flag. If it is absent or abnormal then there is your red flag".

Knowing my body saved me to tell you this story.