How my story begins: My story begins just after the birth of my youngest daughter. I had a normal pregnancy and delivery. I went to my six-week postpartum checkup and my OBGYN said that everything was okay and I could resume having sex again. However, that's when I realized there was an issue. I would bleed every time after sex. I reached out to my OBGYN and she told me that my body is probably just still healing. The bleeding continued. I made an appointment with her and she did a pelvic exam. She quickly noticed that I had polyps and took a biopsy. A few days later, I received a phone call. It was my OBGYN and she broke the news to me that my biopsy came back cancerous.
Less than a week after that life changing phone call, I was in the oncologist office. I had a wonderful doctor. She took another biopsy. I was initially diagnosed with stage 1b2 cervical cancer. (Little did I know, this will drastically change later) We decided that we would schedule an open radical hysterectomy. I was beyond scared. I've never had surgery in my life, let alone surgery for cancer! This was also happening during COVID, so my husband literally had to just drop me off at the front doors of the hospital and I had to walk in and have this surgery alone. I knew I had to do this for my family and my babies. Thankfully, surgery was successful and the pathology report came back that I was cancer free!
Unfortunately, just a few short months later, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer a second time. This time around, my oncologist put me on Cisplatin once a week and external radiation 5 days a week for six weeks. I also did 4 rounds of brachytherapy (internal radiation). This was exhausting and that radiation was NO joke! I thought the chemo was going to be the hard part, but boy was I wrong. Yet again, after finishing treatment...I was again, cancer free! Whew!
You're not going to believe this, but a few months after... cancer again. This time, my current oncologist told me that she needed to refer me to the University of Michigan for further treatment. I really loved this doctor, but I knew she was doing what was best for me. I also knew that UofM was for seriously sick people and I was scared.
Within a week, I was in my new oncologist's office discussing the next steps. My new doctor (who is incredible!) told me that he recommended a total pelvic exenteration. This surgery is one of the biggest surgeries performed. This requires them to take out my bladder, my bowels, and my entire vagina, leaving me with two ostomy bags for the rest of my life. Holy scary! But like always, I would do anything for my babies so I agreed to the surgery. A few weeks later, I had my surgery. In addition to the total pelvic exenteration, I also had vaginal reconstruction with a plastic surgeon. They removed muscle flaps from the back of my legs and made me a new vagina! I had a long recovery and ended up spending six weeks in the hospital. I was unable to sit for 5 weeks because I couldn't cut off the blood supply to my new vagina. There were LOTS of bumps in the road during this recover, however I did it! Getting used to having a colostomy and urostomy was hard, but they saved my life so I learned to love my new bags. Thankfully, for the third time, my margins from pathology came back clear again!
I continued to have some hiccups after this surgery. The new neovagina that the plastic surgeon created for me refused to heal inside in one area. This was due to the radiation damage from the second time I had cancer. My plastic surgeon recommended doing hyperbaric oxygen therapy. I was willing to try anything! I started doing hyperbaric oxygen therapy five days a week for about four hours a day for six months. I swear, it's like a part time job! The best part? I met some amazing people there, one of which I talk to every day still! Unfortunately, the hyperbaric oxygen therapy didn't heal my open wound in my vagina. The next thing my doctor recommended was to take a skin graft from my thigh and line the inside of the vagina. Like always, I did whatever the doctors recommended. We ended up going into the operating room and praying that I would wake up and be all closed up, however that wasn't the case.
I woke up in recovery happy that surgery was over and ready to start recovering. My plastic surgeon walked in with a very sad look on his face. I asked him what was wrong and he said, "I'm sorry Talitha, but your cancer is back." My heart stopped. I froze. Next thing you know, my mom comes in and she's sobbing. Is this real life? Four times? What am I going to do? They admitted me to the hospital and the next morning my oncologist came in on his day off and talked to me. We decided to start on the big dog chemo medications which meant I was going to lose my hair. This was my biggest fear. I've been through so much already, but this time people are going to KNOW I have cancer because I LOOK like I have cancer. Just like the last three times, I did as the doctors recommended because I had to be around for my babies.
I started chemotherapy and immunotherapy right away. I was on Carbo, Taxol, and Pembro (Keytruda). After my first treatment, I decided to cut my hair off and donate it to Wigs for Kids. I knew I was going to lose my hair, so I wanted it to go to good use. My hair began falling out in chucks soon after that so instead of going through that trauma, I shaved the rest of it off. So hard, yet so empowering at the same time. I was on this chemo regimen from June 2023 until December 2023. By the time I finished my last treatment, I was exhausted....so exhausted. I was in the hospital in between pretty much every round of chemo because of infections. My urostomy was blocked with scar tissue so my urine kept getting backed up in my kidneys. I had to have bilateral nephrostomy tubes put into my back to help drain the urine. I even went septic one time due to the kidney infections. Anyways, I had my scans after my last cancer treatment and it came back that there was still a little spot left. It was only a half of a centimeter big so I prayed, prayed, prayed that it would go away with a little more time and that chemo/immunotherapy. I had another scan a couple months later and it was GONE! Thank you, Jesus! Since March 2024, I have been cancer free!
In June 2024, I was finally able to have a surgery that I was supposed to have a year prior. The plastic surgeon was planning on doing that skin graft again and my urologist had to go in to clean up some scar tissue that was blocking my urine from coming out and causing a lot of kidney infections. The urologist wasn't sure if he was going to have to take a new section of my intestines or if he would be able to use the conduit that was already there. When I woke up from surgery, I was told that they were able to use the conduit that was already there and he was able to just clean up the scar tissue and remove the nephrostomy tubes! I was also told that my plastic surgeon didn't have to do the skin graph because the hole finally closed so much that he was able to just stitch it closed! What a miracle! God is so good! I spend a few days in the hospital before going home to heal. I felt wonderful!
Life before my diagnosis: Life before cancer was pretty "normal". I was enjoying life with my husband and children (4 month old, 2 year old, and 10 year old). I was always up for bike rides, the park, spending time with family, going to my son's basketball and baseball games, church every Sunday and just enjoying life. I'm a very busy person and always had to be doing something!
How I felt after diagnosis: After diagnosis, I was of course scared, but I was also determined. I'm strong in my Catholic faith and I knew that God wouldn't give me any more than I can't handle. I put my problems in him and he took care of me each and every time. The first two times I had cancer, I kept it quiet and didn't tell anyone besides my family and a few close friends. But the third and fourth time, I put my story out there and I'm so thankful I did. I've been through so much and I pray that I can be a friend and support for people who are going through this terrible disease also.
Telling my family and friends: Telling my family and friends was hard, but it was also relieving because I knew that they would support me and be there for me. Which they were. I'm very blessed and thankful for all of them. Strangers who heard my story were also such great blessings. People I didn't even know were praying for me and telling me what an inspiration I was. What a wonderful feeling!
My treatment: Each time I was diagnosed, I had a different treatment. The first time I had a hysterectomy. The second time, I went through chemotherapy, radiation, and brachytherapy. The third time, I had a total pelvic exenteration with vaginal reconstruction. The fourth time, I went through chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Praying there's not a fifth time!
What was most difficult for me: There were a few things that were difficult for me during all of this. The biggest thing was my children. I felt guilty every time I had to stay in the hospital and go to all my doctors appointments. I hated that I didn't have the energy to play with them like I used to. I tried so hard to be the mom I was before cancer, but that was hard.
It was also hard getting myself to slow down and allow myself to heal. I'm always such a go, go, go person that slowing down was hard. I was frustrated that I couldn't do what I used to do. Going up the starts was hard and took my breath away. What the heck? I'm in my 30's, this shouldn't be! But I've learned to give myself grace and let my body heal, it's been through a lot.
What I did to help myself: I tried to do anything I could to help myself. I let myself rest. I told myself that the dishes and the cleaning could wait. I got myself into therapy and was able to talk through my struggles and celebrate my victories. I took charge of my health and made sure my doctors were all in the same loop. I enjoyed the little things in life a little more.
My life after cancer: Life after cancer is amazing. I told my therapist that I'm thankful for cancer because it gave me a different look on life. I feel like I have a different look on life than other people my age. I'm thankfully for the small things and notice God's blessings more than I did before. I don't sweat the small stuff and try my best to live each day to the fullest.
Where I am today: Today, I am strong, healthy, and determined. I'm working on getting my strength and energy back. Working on myself and my own healing. Once I am better, I know that I will be able to be the mom I want to be again. I am a Cervivor!
What I want other women to know: I want other women to know that they aren't alone. There are a lot of women out there who feel just like they feel. Cancer is hard, treatment is hard, dealing with emotions are hard, physical pain and sickness is hard. But you are stronger than all of that. Put your faith in God and he will get you through, I promise.
How I will try to help others: Ever since I've shared my story with others, I've had so much support. When I was going through cancer the first three times, I didn't know anyone else who has been through this. My goal is to be that support and friend to those who are going through this. I have had many people tell me that I should go speak and share my story with others because of my positive attitude and outlook on all of this. What a dream! I would love to do that. I want to share my story and let them know that they aren't alone. This is hard, but you can do hard things! I did!
Any additional information you'd like to share: Please feel free to reach out to me. I also share my story on TikTok (@tstempin). I'm hoping to make more videos to empower other Cervivors. You are not alone!