Cervical cancer survivor: Why I trust UT MD Anderson

Do you know that stress scale ranking traumatic life events? Like the death of a close family member or a major illness? Well, I had three of the top five life-altering events all at once during the summer of 2011.

The first stressor was my younger sister dying of colon cancer. The second was parenting three kids under age 5 alone because my husband had just started a new job in South Carolina and we were in the process of relocating. The third was when I found out I had two types of early stage cervical cancer — at the same time and in the same spot.

“Overwhelmed” doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt. I was emotionally and physically exhausted. All I really heard after the word “cancer” was the “wah wah wah” of the adult characters speaking in a Peanuts cartoon.

Thankfully, my gynecologist referred me to UT MD Anderson for my cervical cancer treatment. They really protected and guided me when I needed them.

Trusting my care team to determine the best cervical cancer treatment

My sister Angela was seven years younger than me. I did her hair, fixed her lunch and got her on the school bus when we were growing up. So, when she died, it almost felt like I was losing my own child. Helping her through the last two weeks of her life left me emotionally spent.

I was physically drained from unexpected breakthrough bleeding before my diagnosis, too. All the while, I was caring for three young children, marketing our current home, purchasing a new home and getting ready to move to another state.

Normally, I am a very high-energy person. I run marathons and am super active. But I fully leaned into my dedicated husband to tie up every loose end and accepted support for our everyday needs.

I didn’t have the capacity to discern the multiple options being presented. So, when it came time to figure out my cervical cancer treatment, I put my faith in God. I looked at gynecologic surgical oncologist Dr. Michael Bevers and said, “I am a mother and I need you to fix it.”

He heard me. And, that’s exactly what he did.

Straightforward guidance was just what I needed

The pathology report from a biopsy showed I had both poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma and a large-cell neuroendocrine cervical cancer. Both types of cancer were present in the small growth on my cervix.

To treat them, Dr. Bevers recommended a radical hysterectomy, followed by five weeks of chemoradiation and a course of brachytherapy under radiation oncologist Dr. Anuja Jhingran that overlapped with six rounds of chemotherapy. He said, “Look, if we can get out ahead of this thing, I really think you stand a good chance of living a long, healthy life.”

I appreciated Dr. Bevers’ clear and straightforward approach. It was exactly what I needed — not a bunch of different alternatives to consider and analyze myself.

Cervical cancer treatment from people who truly cared about me

I didn’t have the bandwidth to question anything. But I trusted Dr. Bevers’ expertise 100%. So, I did everything he said. I started my cancer treatment in November 2011 and finished everything up by February 2012. By God’s grace, I’ve shown no evidence of disease since then.

Going from non-stop to full stop brings immeasurable anxiety. Dr. Bevers and his staff were incredibly kind and understanding. He and Dr. Jhingran worked very closely together to help me balance everything, so I could keep caring for my kids while my husband was 1,000 miles away.

Various doctors, nurses and other care team members guided me on how to navigate the unrelenting nausea and intestinal sensitivities I experienced. It was a fully integrated team effort to ensure I could get the nourishment I needed to keep going.

I will always be grateful to Dr. Bevers’ APRN, Misty White. She is the most caring, compassionate and encouraging person I interacted with during my treatment. There were also many other staff members who made sure I didn’t feel alone. Small gestures, kind words and simply showing up make a big difference to someone who is at their lowest point.

My kids are now 17, 19 and 20. I am active, healthy and cancer-free. I feel really fortunate to have been treated by people who truly cared about me and really listened when I told them what I needed. In return, they gave me clear, reliable guidance I could trust.

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