10 Years and Still Going Strong!

August 20, 1999. I was a freshman at Howard University. I went to the school clinic for a routine check up. When the doctor on staff asked me if I wanted to have my 1st pap smear done, I gasped. NO WAY!!! He explained to me that ALL women who are 18 and older should get one. So I agreed. Later that very afternoon, I was called back into his office. Strange I thought to myself, I just left there.... could something be wrong? Why the heck would I be called back just hours later? I went back and was "prepped" before entering the office by his nurse. She explained that anything could be raised as concern and that really it is probably nothing to be worried about. So when I finally spoke with the doctor, he told me that my pap was abnormal and that I needed to have more tests ran.... Ummm ok, so after quite a few tests, I was called back in the next day and was informed that I had a rather large tumor growing in my uterus (size of a grapefruit). It was confirmed that it was malignant and needed to be removed right away!

I was 18 at the time and didn't understand the severity. By October, I was back home in San Bernardino, CA. I had had the required surgery to remove the tumor, but the cancer was already there. My mom was taking care of me through the brutal 27 injections required for my chemotherapy treatments that was every other day. I was SICK!!!! Funny because I didn't feel sick at all until I started chemo. I lost almost 50 lbs, not only was I sick, I looked sick.

Chemotherapy was brutal!!! I hated every minute of it. I had to undergo that therapy for 7 long months. It was a glorious day when I was told I could stop that. The next step was radiation. that was a nice break because instead of every other day, I only had to go in once a week... and PRAISE GOD, NO MORE SHOTS!!!!! 27 shots every other day for about 7 months was a little over (ekkkk) 2800 shots!!

Fast forward to January 21, 2001. I was told I was HEALTHY! I needed no more radiation. The cancer was 100% gone and that I could carry on with my life. That was over 10 years ago. I thank God and my family for getting me through that rough time in my life and I am a better person because of it! AMEN