Stage III cervical cancer survivor: Why I no longer skip my well-woman exams

When I was diagnosed with stage III cervical cancer this past spring, it came as a shock. I hadn’t been feeling well for several months, but I never expected it to be cancer. There’s absolutely no history of that disease in my family.  

Before my diagnosis, I rode about 30 horses a day as a professional trainer. But I’ve been working in this field for more than 20 years. So, I attributed the hip pain I’d been feeling to simply getting older. And at 53, I chalked up the weird bleeding I’d been having to menopause. My periods have always been kind of across the board.  

When I still didn’t feel any better after a bout of the flu this winter, though, I went back to the doctor. Bloodwork showed I was very anemic, so she ordered a CT scan. That’s when my doctor found the 11 cm tumor. 

Why I went to MD Anderson

My local doctor wanted to send me to an oncologist in Lexington. That’s the closest big city to where I live in rural Kentucky. But I felt kind of panicky when she added that I probably only had about five more years to live. That prognosis freaked me out. 

Fortunately, I remembered a friend who had gone to MD Anderson for melanoma treatment about eight years ago. I was really impressed by how MD Anderson operated and the success my friend had there. Then I remembered that this friend is still going strong today — and his disease was at stage IV by the time of his diagnosis. That’s when I realized: I wasn’t going anywhere else. 

My cervical cancer treatment

At MD Anderson, I met with Dr. Lauren Colbert. She’s a radiation oncologist who specializes in the treatment of gynecologic cancers, including cervical cancer. Dr. Colbert did her own scans and tests to confirm my diagnosis, then made her treatment recommendations.  

I started with five weeks of chemoradiation. Then, I moved on to an immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab. I’m still taking that drug today and will for about the next two years. Fortunately, I won’t need surgery. I was a little surprised, because I was expecting it. But Dr. Colbert said in my case, it might cause more problems than it solved. 

Getting back in the saddle

I rang the bell to mark the end of my chemoradiation treatments in early June. Those made me feel really nauseated, so I was glad to be done with them.  

But I never lost my hair, and I’m feeling pretty good now. I started accepting clients’ horses again in early July. I’m also back to riding 10 or 12 horses a day. And, I participated in my first barrel racing competition since the cancer diagnosis in June.  

My only regret

Looking back now, my only regret is skipping so many well-woman exams. I knew I should be getting one every year. I just led a busy life and really hated going to the doctor. Now I know that wasn’t a good excuse. 

That’s why I urge all my female friends not to make the same mistake I did. Don’t wait 15 years to get a Pap test. Maybe if I hadn’t, my OB/GYN would’ve only found cervical dysplasia before it actually turned into cancer. Or, maybe she might’ve found the cervical cancer sooner, when it was smaller and easier to treat. 

I’ll probably never be able to work quite as much as I did before my cancer diagnosis. But that’s OK. Dr. Colbert told me that as long as my body keeps responding to the immunotherapy, I should be able to lead a fairly normal life.  

Dr. Colbert can’t give me any guarantees, of course. And, I know none of this is for sure. But MD Anderson sure gave me a lot more hope than my first oncologist did. That’s why I’m sticking with them. 

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