Patient Stories

Surviving Both Breast & Cervical Cancer

1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime and it remains to be the most common cancer amongst women in the U.S. The death rates from breast cancer have reduced due to advancements in technology and routine breast cancer screenings.

It is estimated that about 14,480 new invasive cases of cervical cancer will be diagnosed in 2021. Cervical cancer was once the most common cancer death amongst women in the U.S. Cancer death rates were reduced significantly with the use of a screening tool to detect changes in the cervix, also known as the Pap test.

Early detection and screening has saved so many of us. Can you imagine making it through one cancer diagnosis only to be given another and a different type at that? Hear from two of our Cervivor community members in their experiences with both breast and cervical cancer.

Laura shares her thoughts as a breast and cervical cancer survivor

After treatment, Laura was trying to find other advocates and advocacy resources for cervical cancer patients. She noticed there was a difference in how the treatments were carried out and in the kind of support she received between the two cancers.

“I first encountered cancer in the form of cervical cancer. The treatments were isolating, there was a lack of resources, and there was a stigma that left me feeling ashamed and not understanding why. Two years later, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I experienced a complete 180, the treatments took place in a communal setting, pink support was everywhere, and there was no feeling of shame.”

Laura wanted to understand what she could do to help gynecologic cancer patients, specifically cervical cancer patients. She was drawn to Cervivor School as a way to dive in with trusted resources and what she found, in addition, was a sisterhood and a way to network with community partners. Since Laura attended Cervivor School Chicago in 2019, she has built community partnerships like the one with her local American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACSCAN).

“My plea to everyone is to not let any screening lapse – cervical, breast, skin, colon, etc. Don’t let your guard down against cancer of any type!”

Read Laura’s Cervivor story here, then read her interview with the Daily Journal.

Photo Courtesy of Daily Journal

Karen, a former nurse, and breast cancer survivor gives helpful tips on navigating a diagnosis

Karen was well aware of the pink ribbon after her experience with breast cancer. She found herself asking what ribbon color represented cervical cancer after her diagnosis in 2015.

Karen recommends these helpful tips on navigating a cancer diagnosis:

  • First, don’t Google it. This can put you in a negative headspace right off the bat.
  • Get to know all of the key care team members taking care of you.
  • Bring a family member or friend to all of your appointments as a second set of ears. If you are not able to have someone with you due to unforeseen circumstances, ask your care team if it is okay to record your visit with your smart phone.
  • Bring a notebook and keep a running list of questions you may want to ask your care team between visits. This also comes in handy to keep track of side effects, medications, etc.
  • Don’t be afraid to ask for help!

She expresses additional things that helped her during her cancer treatment, “I went to physical therapy to regain mobility, I reached out for support to other friends that had had breast cancer – like my friend that lives in Australia. She and I would text on those nights I couldn’t sleep. I decided to see a counselor in conjunction with my psychiatrist to work through the emotional turmoil I was experiencing.  With breast cancer, I didn’t feel abandoned by my friends but when I had cervical cancer, it felt different. Lastly, I continued going to my favorite place at the lake so I could connect with nature’s beauty. It really brought some peace into my life.”

Read Karen’s Cervivor story here then read her blog post “On Wednesdays we wear Pink”… wait, what?.

Karen attending Cervivor School Chicago in 2019

If you’re reading this today and you haven’t scheduled your routine cancer screenings, pick up your phone or go online and schedule them now! Screening and early detection saves lives.

Screening guidelines change often with the advancement of technology. If you’re unsure of your screening guidelines, go here for breast cancer and here for cervical cancer.

Are you a patient, survivor, and/or thriver looking for support? Visit these resources:

I had data and statistics in my talks, but that wasn’t telling the story that would move people to action

Chair of the National HPV Vaccination Roundtable, Dr. Noel Brewer has given hundreds of talks at scientific conferences and meetings across the globe. He’s advised the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization on vaccination.  He’s one of the most cited researchers in the world. His credentials are impeccable, yet much of the time when he starts a talk, he defers to the experts: patients.

His solution: “Always have people speak who have had the experience. When someone speaks who has had direct experience with cancer, it clears out the mental clutter. It makes you feel. It sets the stage for the important work that will follow.”

Dr. Noel Brewer has shared Lisa Moore’s Cervivor Story hundreds of times to “help people grasp the importance of preventing cancer.”

“To hear about the diagnosis and that awful waiting period. About what they have gone through – the symptoms, the damage caused by treatments, the possible loss of fertility.  These are key parts of the story that survivors can speak about in a personal way that doctors, scientists and other experts simply cannot.”

“As scientists, we often talk about cancer in abstract and technical terms. We convey a lot of important information that doesn’t connect with people’s feelings and imagination. But how can we help people grasp the importance of preventing cancer?” reflects Dr. Brewer.

Dr. Brewer regularly starts his talks with the voice of Lisa Moore. Lisa died of cervical cancer in October 2017, at age 31. Yet through her powerful Cervivor story video, she has educated and impacted thousands.

“I had data and statistics in my talks and trainings, but realized I wasn’t telling the full story. So now, I leave that to Lisa Moore. In her video, she tells the story of her fight with cervical cancer. It’s one minute. It’s powerful. It’s heartbreaking. Every time I show the video, I’m moved by it. And I’ve seen it more than 150 times.”

“At first, Lisa is sitting. She is sewing. She tells her story in very simple and concrete terms. We see her partner in the background, watching her. Every time I show it, people pause and struggle to collect themselves. We sit with Lisa. We feel her pain and her call to action. We take a deep breath together, then we get focused on the work of what we are going to do to prevent cervical cancer.”

Lisa was a true champion for prevention. She educated and advocated and was telling her story…until she could no longer. Lisa lives on in her Cevivor story and in her video, and her passion for prevention and call to action has been seen, heard and felt by researchers, healthcare providers and policy makers around the world. Not just through Dr. Brewer’s use of her video into his talks, but by many others.

“I do many ‘train the trainer’ sessions about HPV vaccination, and connections happen based on Lisa’s video. People often come up to me after, asking if they could also incorporate Lisa’s video in their own outreach. Working with Cervivor, we’ve shared the video many times and amplified the reach of Lisa’s message.”

In video or in person, “Cancer survivors speak with certain authority,” says Dr. Brewer. “You are a moral voice on cervical cancer and all of the ways it affects lives. I don’t know anyone who can speak as powerfully.”

“We’ve shared her video at Cervivor events, and it has been seen and shared many times via our social media platforms. But Dr. Brewer is the one who has really helped to get Lisa’s story to the masses and I am personally thankful to him for that,” said Tamika Felder, founder of Cervivor. “Lisa wanted her story to be shared. She wanted the world to see that not only what cervical cancer had done and taken from her; but also, that it in fact it was not an easy cancer. She wanted her story to help get people vaccinated against HPV so they would not have to suffer the same fate. Dr. Brewer has helped me keep my promise to Lisa. For that I am forever grateful.”

Are you sharing your story?

If you haven’t yet, add your story to our Cervivor Stories. Write a blog post about your experience or your advocacy or about a milestone or simply a memory or reflection and send it to [email protected]. We can publish it and add it to the voice and reach of our Cervivor blog.

As Dr. Brewer reminds us, stories matter. Stories motivate. Stories change minds. Our community’s work sharing our stories is powerful.

A professor of Health Behavior at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public, Dr. Noel Brewer studies health behaviors. He examines ways to increase HPV vaccine uptake, and his research led to the development of “The Announcement Approach” to train providers to communicate more effectively about HPV vaccination and other vaccines for adolescents. Dr. Brewer chairs the National HPV Vaccination Roundtable, which brings a wide cross-section of stakeholders together to raise HPV vaccination rates and prevent HPV cancers.