My story is kinda long, but that's ok. In April of last year I went for my annual and there was nothing wrong. Shortly after that I had some weird pains and my periods were really heavy, but since I was ok in April I figured it was just hormones. My ob/gyn recommended Mirena - the birth control implant because at only 33 they found me to be peri-menopausal.When I went to have Mirena placed in June he found a huge vaginal mass and I found out the next day that in under 8 weeks I developed a very rare stage 3 cancer. I went to the gyno-oncologist the very next day and because the tumor was right against my bladder they were thinking they may have to remove my bladder, rectum, vagina, and the rest of my female organs.Luckily, I was with Dr. John Nash at UCONN and they had just gotten a new tomoradiation machine. He consulted with every doc he could get his hands on and thought we should try tomo first.It got rid of this immpossible cancer. It is so rare that I am only the 21st person ever to have this specific type of squamous cell adenocarcinoma - the uniguity is because it normally spreads through the glands, but my glands were clean and the cancer attached to the soft tissue instead - vaginal cancer itself is pretty rare. Apparently it's some sort of mutation. I also found out as far as anyone knows I am the ONLY survivor of this particular cancer.It has been tough. Twelve weeks of radiation, so far 10 moths of chemo (to be on the safe side because the cancer was so aggressive) and several surgeries to remove tumors on my labia and rectum. Yeah, I know, ouch.Luckily, I have a wonderful hubby of 13 years and a great support network of family, friends, and co-workers. I also have multiple sclerosis somy body has taken a whippin', but I'm really tough and I bounce back every time.In fact, I'm planning on going to Italy with my husband in the fall and getting back to all of my volunteer activities. One of the things I'm working on now is writing a book for newly diagnosed cancer patients to help them cope with facing their mortality - it can be a real brain bender, especially when you're young. If anyone needs a friend or has any questions about my therapy I can be reached at gahles@charter.net and will do whatever I can to help. Together, we can do this.....
Geizha West Hartland, CTClick Here for more survivor stories
