![]() What was most difficult for me: Having to give up my responsibilities as a mother during my first diagnosis was very difficult. It took about 6 days for the fog to lift after treatment. After treatment I stayed in bed for 4 days and then would force myself out of bed and walk around the block to help me regain strength. As my treatments progressed and my body became more toxic, the treatments became more grueling. Subsequent treatments I was faithful to the anti-nausea meds. I wasn't feeling terribly nauseous so decided to stop my anti-nausea meds which wasn't a good idea at all. How I felt after treatment: My first treatment wasn't horrible. After finishing treatment and follow up PET scan, I was once again told there is NED. The treatment plan was 28 days of radiation accompanied by weekly chemotherapy. It turned out that the nodes in my neck were nothing but one node in my pelvis lit up. In 2016, I felt some enlarged lymph nodes in my neck which prompted my ONC to do a PET scan. 16 of those women had a partial response, one had a complete response. Out of the 54 women on the trial, 31% (17 women) responded. ![]() The trial I participated in was a Phase 2 trial that did not advance to Phase 3. If I am diagnosed again, I don't think I will leave the doctor's office without getting a port :)Īfter the eight rounds of chemotherapy, I was told that there is no evidence of disease. My treatments lasted about 9 hours and the infusion was painful. I did not have a port so I received my treatment through iv. ![]() I received Cisplatin and Alimta every 3 weeks for 8 rounds. My treatment: I participated in a clinical trial at MD Anderson in Houston (flying from my home in Central FL every 3 weeks for chemo). It was something I couldn't protect them from which, as a mom, was foreign to me. It was difficult to share with my then 9 & 13 yr old sons that my cancer was back. Telling my family and friends: I was very open about the process of my diagnosis with my family and friends, except my children. Everyone around me knew the severity of my diagnosis and did the worrying for me. At the time it didn't occur to me, and only me, that I could die. How I felt after diagnosis: I felt strong knowing that I was physically in the best shape of my life. Having been through two other cancer diagnoses I wasn't shocked when the enlarged lymph node in my right clavicle was determined to be a recurrence of my 2004 cervical cancer diagnosis of Stage 0 Adenocarcinoma in situ. I was an active mother of two sons and wife. Life before my diagnosis: My third and most significant cancer diagnosis came in July 2011, weeks after running my first marathon. ![]() CT scans would confirm that the nodes throughout my body were being affected. With greater urgency, I was transferred to GYN/ONC to develop a plan of treatment. It was thought that my thyroid cancer had recurred and I was facing an extensive neck surgery that came with a host of risks until I found enlarged lymph nodes in my groin area which alerted the doctors that it was likely not my thyroid cancer. I thought I had checked cancer off my list until I found a lump in my supraclavicular lymph node on the right side, which quickly turned to enlarged lymph nodes up and down both sides of my neck. I had a hysterectomy and no other treatment. Two short years later, I was diagnosed with Stage 0 Adenocarcinoma in situ of the cervix. I had my thyroid surgically removed and radioactive iodine as treatment. How my story begins: In 2002, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer shortly after my second son was born. ![]()
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