Now she spreads awareness about the disease onTikTok.
Heres her story, as told to SELFs associate health conditions director Julia Sullivan.
In early 2016, I bled for about 10 minutes right after having sex.
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It felt weird that they didnt want to give me a pelvic exam.
When I got back home, I felt off.
Usually, Im up at 6 a.m. singingIve always been high-energy.
Ifelt fatiguedbut wondered if it was just a side effect of the medication.
I eventually felt odd back pain, too, so I went back to the clinic with my concerns.
The staff told me I just needed to give some time for the antibiotics to kick in.
After I finished those meds, I startedbleeding after sexagain.
I still felt exhausted and my back was killing me.
I basically demanded to receive a pelvic exam.
I told her, Listen, I just dont think thats what this is.
They brought in a different nurse practitioner who saw what might be a mass on my cervix.
I asked her, So do you think its cancer?
Since I was uninsured, they gave me a number for my local hospital.
Im like, Okay, I might have cancer.
Maybe I can get a biopsy, or maybe not, depending on how lucky I get.
I was extremely stressed and scared, but I immediately went into problem-solving mode.
But thetreatment wiped me out.
Id put my kids to bed and then literally sit in the bathtub and cry.
However, I kept reminding myself that it was just three monthsI could do anything for three months.
On November 8, 2016Election DayI went in for a follow-up.
A resident sat with me in the waiting room before the doctor came in.
The actual doctor finally came in, put his hand on my shoulder, and repeated the news.
I was so angry.
How did my symptoms keep getting overlooked?
A very nice nurse had to walk me back out to my carI was absolutely hysterical.
Who would take care of my kids?
That really screwed me up, because nobodys going to love your children the way you do.
But I had to keep trying.
I had to be here for them, so my mindset quickly shifted.
That night, I mass-emailed every oncologist I could find.
I needed a second opinion.
Eventually, one doctor responded and offered to examine me.
I tried my best to be there for them as much as I could.
She said, Go call your babies!
It was the best day I could have never imagined.
Still, my heart was breaking for all the people whove ever been diagnosed with cervical cancer.
Sometimes I wouldnt tell others that I had cervical cancerjust that I hadcancerso I wouldnt be judged.
Like everyone else whos been diagnosed with cervical cancer, theres nothing I did to cause this.
Theres nothing wrong with me.
