How my story begins: Before the very surprising news of my cervical cancer diagnosis, my life was pretty perfect. I have an amazing husband and two precious children - ages 2 & 3 at the time, with hopes of having one more in the future. We were talking about putting our house on the market and upgrading and were both doing well in our jobs. Things were pretty great and the future looked exciting!

I had my Pap test in July 2015. I was always very committed to screenings and I've never skipped one. I received a call a couple of weeks later that my results had come back abnormal. This had happened a couple of times in the past, so I really didn't give it a second thought. I scheduled my colposcopy and carried on with my life. After the colposcopy, I assumed everything would go on like normal - I wouldn't hear anything back and of course, "No news is good news!" Wrong....on August 19th, I was packing up at work getting ready to leave for the day when my doctor called. She told me that my biopsy had come back showing cancer cells and I needed to go see an oncologist the next week. I went to the oncologist, who scheduled a cone biopsy. Upon reviewing the results of the cone biopsy, my oncologist and her team agreed that the best treatment would be a radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymph node dissection. Fortunately, I was declared cancer-free after this surgery and have been since.

How I felt after diagnosis: Devastated. Scared. Angry. Anxious. Disappointed. I was overwhelmed with emotion when I got the news of my cancer diagnosis. It would be impossible to put all of those emotions into words. I felt constantly sick to my stomach. I wasn't sure how to deal with the uncertainty of it all. I prayed....and prayed and prayed....since I needed the Lord more than ever during that horrible season of my life.

My treatment: Cone Surgery and Radical Hysterectomy

How I felt after treatment: At first, I felt empty - like I had lost something that should have been mine. I grieved the loss of the third child I always thought I would have. I fearfully faced the reality that I would have to adjust to a new normal. Yes - the cancer was gone, but it had forever changed my life. I would have regular follow ups and fear that the cancer would come back. I felt guilty for being angry. My cancer was gone so what right did I have to be sad or angry? Some people weren't so fortunate. I felt a desperate desire to "get over it" and move on with my life. It was only later that I realized that you don't just "get over" having cancer. You just learn to live with it and use your story to help others.

What was most difficult for me: It was very difficult for me to accept that I would not have any more biological children. I also had a hard time keeping it together in front of my kids. They were very young and I wanted to protect them from this. I didn't want them to see Mommy and Daddy upset and not be able to understand.

My life after cancer: I have not been cancer-free for long, so I am slowly learning to deal with the anxiety that accompanies the cancer survivor life. I try to live each day to the fullest and don't take things for granted. Life is a gift and I'm grateful to have mine.

What I want other women to know: Cervical cancer can happen to anyone. I had never had anything but a clean medical record. I'd never had stitches, a broken bone, surgery, serious sickness. I had in my head that I was exempt from cancer. Get your cervical cancer screenings. They can save your life.