In January of 2021, I was diagnosed with HPV related anal cancer. Going through a reduced protocol as part of a clinical trial, I had both chemo and radiation with my last treatment on March 17th of that year.
Within a few months of finishing treatment, I learned that the cancer was starting to come back, so my surgeon had decided to try to remove it locally in July of 2021. Needless to say, I thought that was the end of my cancer journey. Not quite.
In December of 2021 two more small external growths were removed in the surgeons office, which came back positive, and then on a routine follow up PET scan, an enlarged lymph node showed up in my groin. After having that removed and tested, it also came back with the same cancer. It was at this point that I decided to move forward with what is known as APR surgery. In July 2022, the Monday before my 50th birthday, I had a 9 hour surgery to remove my anus, rectum and sigmoid colon, was given a permanent colostomy and had ab muscles removed from my stomach to rebuild my behind.
It's been a tough journey, but I am happy to say that as of now I am cancer free and have been living my new normal for over a year. I have some scans coming up soon, so fingers crossed I don't have to update this blog post!
During my journey, it was very tough to find anything out there that featured the awareness ribbon for anal cancer (it's a pretty teal and purple). This is why I was passionate to create our Cancer Awareness Tumblers, and feature ribbons for many different types of cancer. I hope that they will help to raise awareness for these challenging diseases, and that those that are battling have something to represent what they are going through.
I also want to bring more awareness to HPV related cancers, especially anal cancer. It is one of the most misdiagnosed cancers out there, mostly due to the fact that it can present similar to hemorrhoids. I always say to people "if I hadn't put on my "big girl pants" and had my bum checked out, I may not be here today". Please do not be embarrassed or feel a stigma about getting things like these checked out, it may just save your life!
Thank you for listening to my story!