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I received my cervical cancer diagnosis in May 2010, at age 45.

A routine Pap test came back abnormal, and my local doctor wanted to do a biopsy. She changed her mind when I came in for the procedure. In just the week since I¡¯d first seen her, my cervix had changed enough in appearance that she suspected I had cancer. She referred me to an oncologist in Tulsa, the nearest big city.

The oncologist examined me on a Wednesday. He said he could tell it was cervical cancer just by looking at it and that I needed to get it taken care of right away. I had a PET scan done on Friday to make sure it hadn¡¯t spread. Then he scheduled me for a radical hysterectomy.

My initial cervical cancer treatment

As a registered nurse, I¡¯m used to being the caregiver in health care settings, so it was hard to process everything. But in my mind, having the cancer ¡°out¡± was better that ¡°in,¡± so I drove home, told my husband, then drove three hours north to watch our daughter¡¯s college graduation. Three days later, I had the hysterectomy.

When I awoke from the anesthesia, the doctor said it was squamous cell carcinoma, but that he had gotten all of it, so I didn¡¯t need chemotherapy or radiation. I also discovered that he¡¯d given me a supra-pubic catheter rather than a regular one. This meant the urine drained through a hole punched surgically in my bladder rather than through a tube inserted in my urethra. The catheter started leaking within two days of leaving the hospital, and I had to have it repaired three times. It was a terrible ordeal.

After the third surgery, things finally started getting better. But during my recovery, all I kept thinking was, ¡°If that guy was wrong about all this, what if he was wrong about everything?¡± My boss told me to get a second opinion, so I made an appointment at MD Anderson.

My decision to live

Within 90 seconds of meeting , at MD Anderson, I learned my previous oncologist had been mistaken. The pathology slides he¡¯d sent over showed two different types of cervical cancer: moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma and poorly differentiated adenosquamous carcinoma. So I needed chemotherapy and radiation after all.

Dr. Bodurka and radiation oncologist , walked me through their treatment recommendations, but I just kept crying and shaking my head no. Finally, Dr. Bodurka asked me gently why I¡¯d come to MD Anderson. ¡°Because I want to live,¡± I said.

She replied, ¡°Well, if you stay here and follow this course of treatment, you have an excellent chance of doing so.¡± I started treatment the following week.

My cervical cancer treatment side effects

My treatment consisted of six weeks of chemotherapy and eight weeks of radiation, simultaneously. And while I didn¡¯t lose my hair, I did lose my appetite and battled nausea every day. I struggled to stay at the 100-pound mark.

I also dealt with diarrhea from the pelvic radiation. I never really knew when it was going to hit. I¡¯d just be standing there, and suddenly it was an emergency. Some days, I napped on the bathroom floor because it was easier.

My doctors did everything they could to help me manage the side effects. No matter what I threw at them, they always had something to help me. Which I found amazing.

Keeping a promise to myself

I stayed with my cousin in Houston during my treatment at MD Anderson. We drove by the Mecom Fountain every day. I always promised myself that I was going to jump in that fountain when I finished. But when I rang the bell to mark the end of my radiation treatments, I didn¡¯t have the energy to even get out of the car again, much less jump anywhere. I was kind of disappointed, so I decided that on my five-year anniversary of being cancer-free, I would jump into a fountain.

I finally made good on that promise on Sept. 30, 2015. I was waiting at a stoplight with my sister and husband after my five-year checkup. Right beside us was the Mays Clinic fountain. And before either of them could talk any sense into me, I had jumped out of the car and gotten into that fountain. Bystanders probably thought I was a lunatic, but once they figured out what I was doing and why, they started clapping.

Not everyone gets a reason to celebrate like that. But that¡¯s one promise I¡¯m glad I got to keep.

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