My cancer journey started in July 2017.

After months of being on my cycle, I finally “forced” my OBGYN to do exploratory surgery. My doctor was hesitant, but agreed. Two tissue samples were taken, and a week later I received a 60-second phone call telling me I had Stage 1 uterine cancer. A week later, I went to MD Anderson for a second opinion, fully expecting to be treated for uterine cancer. When I arrived, my doctor and his team explained that the tissue they received wasn’t actually uterine tissue. There were multiple types of tissue present, and they needed to run their own tests and biopsies. The next 24 hours were a complete whirlwind of tests, conversations, and an unexpected overnight stay in Houston.The next day, my original MD Anderson oncologist came into the conference room and told me they were transferring my care to another oncologist who specialized in the type of cancer they had found.

Small cell neuroendocrine cervical cancer.
It was rare. It was aggressive. And the treatment plan had to be aggressive too.
Five days later, I underwent a radical hysterectomy.

On September 18, 2017, I started chemotherapy and radiation. After finishing treatment, I waited three weeks and on December 19, 2017, I was declared NED—No Evidence of Disease. I thought the hardest part was over. It wasn’t. Life after treatment was, in many ways, harder for me than treatment itself. I tried to go back to my old life, only to realize very quickly that life would never be the same. Eventually, I started finding my footing.

Then, just 14 months later, on February 17, 2019, I found out cancer had returned. I fought again. After six rounds of chemotherapy and surgery, I was declared NED again in October 2019.

Then in April 2020, that nasty beast came back.This time, treatment was harder mentally, physically, and emotionally. Having biopsies, surgeries, and hospital stays without family and friends because of the pandemic was incredibly difficult. Years of chemotherapy took a toll on my body and left me with multiple lasting problems. Since my original diagnosis, I have been through multiple rounds of chemotherapy, surgeries, targeted therapies, and clinical trials. I have been told things I never wanted to hear. I have had moments where I desperately wanted to escape this disease. I have battled waves of depression, chronic pain, fear, and the exhaustion that comes with fighting for your life over and over again. But through every part of it, God gave me reasons to keep hoping.

In April 2022, I started immunotherapy. By November 2022, I was NED once again. I stayed on treatment for two years. The data for immunotherapy supports two years of treatment, and Dr. F recommended that I come off.

And now, here I am.

I’m not the only person who has been told that “nothing else will work” and is now NED. I have seen miracles. I have experienced hope when the statistics said otherwise. And I have seen God show up in ways I never could have predicted. But here’s what I’ve learned: what works for one person may not work for another. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to cancer. So if you are in the middle of this fight, please don’t give up. Keep fighting. Keep researching. Ask questions. Be your own best advocate. Push for answers. Get second opinions. And when insurance tells you no, go to the drug company. Many have assistance programs.

Most importantly, hold onto hope.

Not the kind of hope that says everything will always go the way you want it to. The kind of hope that says even when you don’t know what comes next, you don’t have to walk through it alone. God has carried me through some of the darkest moments of my life. There were days I didn’t understand why I was having to go through any of it, but I kept putting one foot in front of the other and trusting Him. Cancer has changed me. It has taken things from me that I wish it never had.

But it hasn’t taken my hope. And it never will. There is always hope.