Cervivor Stories

Kilimanjaro Cancer Crusher

It’s funny the way life has a way of twisting and turning in unpredictable ways. I never imagined that I would have cancer, let alone cancer in my vagina. I also never imagined that my diagnosis would lead me around the world to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. But that’s exactly where I am heading in just two short months.

My adventure really begins with an abnormal Pap Test at the age of 34 after a routine gyn checkup. The moment the doctor told me I had HPV was something I will never forget. You could have knocked me over with a feather. I was surprised and mortified that I had an STI. Me? No way! But, yes, I am one of the 4 out of 5 Americans with HPV. Despite the several procedures my doctor tried to rid my cervix of the dysplasia nothing was working and I eventually had a total hysterectomy. HPV wasn’t done with me, however, and three years later symptoms returned and I was diagnosed with stage 2 vaginal cancer. This time surgery was not an option and I had two months of chemotherapy, external radiation and internal radiation. The treatment was successful and I have, very thankfully and gratefully, been cancer free for almost three years.

My cancer experience immediately brought life into focus and forced me to really examine what I was doing with mine. I rapidly decided upon 2 driving ideas….1) Although I was weaker and sicker than I had imagined possible, I was alive and recovering. I was determined to outlive my diagnosis and have as much adventure and travel as possible. And 2) I would dedicate my survivorship to prevent other women from living my experience and make my heartbreak count for others.

Since my treatment ended I have been working diligently on these two missions. I’ve learned how to whitewater kayak and paddled some of the most beautiful rivers and lakes in the South, and hiked the Rockies in Colorado and the Sierras in California. I met and was inspired by the adventure of an ovarian cancer survivor, advocate, and friend of mine to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Me? Sure, why not?! During this time I also became a passionate advocate for Cervivor and share HPV and cervical/vaginal cancer awareness and information at events and through social media.

Very quickly my two missions began to converge. My preparation and research of Kilimanjaro and Tanzania naturally brought me to global cervical cancer advocacy. I quickly uncovered the heartbreaking cervical cancer burden in Tanzania. Globally, more than 500k women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer and 270k of those women will die, 90% of them in underdeveloped regions. Women in Tanzania with the same diagnosis as me suffer from an astounding 80% mortality rate. A tragic combination of lack of reproductive health knowledge, access to medical treatment, trained professionals, and basic supplies usually means that women are diagnosed at more advanced stages than the typical American and often do not receive treatment.

The fact that so many women die at the hands of an almost completely preventable disease every year is a tragedy of epic proportion. There was no way I could travel to Kilimanjaro without trying to do whatever I could to help these women and communities. I pulled together a committed team of people, including my own gyn oncologist, to climb Kilimanjaro with me. We are dedicating our climb and have successfully met our goal to fund a cervical cancer screening clinic in Tanzania with the organization Cure Cervical Cancer. Our team leaves for Tanzania later this summer for the trip of a lifetime including a tour of a remote mobile cervical cancer screening clinic in Moshi, a 7-day hike up 19k feet on Mt. Kilimanjaro and a safari. We are training regularly, hiking a lot, and currently trying to coordinate our ridiculously long packing lists.

I came across a Steve Jobs’ quote the other day that struck me, “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” This whole adventure began with a “crazy” idea and a passion to DO something. With the help of my family, friends and supporters, my dreams are coming true and I could not be more humbled and grateful. My cancer does not define me, nor has it held me back. It fuels my fire to live my life with purpose and adventure. I hope my experiences inspire YOU – what’s your next adventure?

Read Sarah’s Cervivor story here.

Follow along with the Kili Cancer Crushers’ team on Facebook or Crowdrise.

Survivorship Badge of Honor

Every time I say the phrase “I’m a cancer survivor,” I feel the weight of the whole experience. I feel the pain, the relief, the pride, the anger, the courage, the happiness, and the uncertainty. Just the other day I was giving blood (first time back since my treatment wrapped) and the lovely folks at the American Red Cross were having a tough time finding a good vein. “I’m a cancer survivor, my veins have been through a lot,” I explained. Translation: I’ve been through a lot.

To me, being a cancer survivor means a myriad of things and its meaning has evolved over time for me. At first, it meant that I had been through something that not many others have. It was like going off to battle, and coming back with a limp and terrible memories. I saw things very few have, I felt things I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, and I lived through a time of such intense anxiety it was almost paralyzing. I was confronted with my own mortality in a tangible way, and this set me apart from most people in my life.

As you can imagine, this is quite a lot to process. So when I first found out my cancer was gone, I immediately started seeing a therapist to help cope with the stress of the previous year. Because to me, the pain of the whole ordeal almost felt almost more intense after treatment had wrapped. It all came crashing down on me. I felt alone and isolated. I read in a cancer Survivorship book that surviving cancer is like being on a boat in the middle of the ocean with all of your friends and family on shore waiving for you to come in, but you’re unable. That’s exactly what it was to me. We celebrated me becoming a cancer survivor, but my relationship with it was complicated.

One of the challenges with becoming a survivor initially was processing the fact that I had survived when others had not. In fact, the day of my “clean scan party” I found out a woman I had been in treatment with had passed away. She left behind two children and a wonderful husband I had gotten to know in the waiting room of treatment. I remember seeing the information on Facebook earlier in the day and I almost wanted to cancel the party. I felt terrible and guilty for celebrating that I had survived, when she had not. I survived because my body responded to the treatment; I didn’t fight harder than she did. She fought even harder. I just got lucky. This didn’t sit well with me, and motivated me to ensure my cancer Survivorship was put to good use.

Once I had processed all of the complicated feelings I had with being a cancer survivor, I began to heal and come out of the shadows that the disease had cast on my life and my loved ones. I started to view myself as a warrior. A humble one, but a warrior nonetheless. I began to wear my Survivorship like a badge of honor and the most important step for me was starting to reach out to anyone I knew that was battling to offer my support. A very close family friend and a coworker were both diagnosed with breast cancer within a short time and my husband and I offered our support to help get them through.

Now, being a survivor comes with a responsibility to take care of others battling, and to help advance the conversation and medicine so fewer and fewer people have to go through it. It means getting involved with organizations like Cervivor that help women, and to eradicate the stigma of cervical cancer. It means keeping things in perspective, and to have empathy for people around you. Because really, you never know what people are going through on a daily basis. It means not taking life for granted, and for celebrating every birthday like it’s a huge milestone. Gray hairs? Bring them on! I cherish the idea of getting older.

Being a cancer survivor is scary and lonely, but it can be a powerful tool used to help people. My pain has turned into my power and this warrior is ready for anything. It’s Motivation Monday and I am #CervivorStrong!

Read Kate’s Cervivor story here.