Cervical Cancer Awareness Month- Brandy's Story

 I'm Brandy Shinkle, a 30 year old mother of 2 girls from Milford, Ohio. 

My journey started in 2008 with my first abnormal Pap smear.  I was married for 2 years to my high school sweetheart, and we had a beautiful 2 year old daughter together, so getting an abnormal result after 10+ years of paps was a little alarming. The doctor wanted to do a colposcopy and biopsy to determine if it was something more serious. The results came back; mild dysplasia. She assured me that with me age (25 at the time) my body would heal itself and they just needed to monitor it. So started the every 6 month pap routine. It never went away. Every pap was abnormal, every colposcopy showed mild dysplasia, and every answer was it will go away. I asked many times to have something more done. My thinking was if it's precancerous now, who's to say it won't turn cancerous? I was continuously told being in my prime child bearing years and only having 1 child they didn't want to do any additional procedures for fear it would hinder my ability to have more children. I knew something wasn't right, but I listened and went on. I knew no different and thought that they are the doctors, they know best. Looking back I see now that I had some whispering symptoms that I chalked up to normal female problems. I had had issues in that area for many years, so I just thought it was how my body functioned. Random bleeding, severe abdominal pain, bloating, painful intercourse. Nothing to out of the ordinary. I gave birth to my 2nd daughter on 6-4-12. She was a big surprise. We were happy as a family of 3, and weren't trying for another. She had a purpose though. She was born by an emergency c-section, and the doctor that delivered her, I had never seen before in all the years of going to the Ob/gyn. She reviewed my chart and advised if my post-partum pap smear came back abnormal she would perform a leep procedure, and that would end my every 6 month visits. Well, just like the last 4 years worth, the post-partum Pap smear came back abnormal. So, in September 2012 I had a leep done. I was supposed to go back for a follow up in October, but life got in the way and I never made it. In November the doctors nurse called and said that it was necessary for me to come in. November 14th I went for what I thought was just a follow up. When the nurse took me to the room and told me to stay dressed I knew something wasn't right. The doctor came in and that's when my life changed. She advised me that the pathology results from the leep showed that the mild dysplasia was actually cancerous. It was imperative to have a hysterectomy since this had been going on for years. She wasn't sure how far it had progressed. Almost 6 months to the day after delivering my daughter, I was back at the hospital having a hysterectomy on December 3, 2012. Biopsies performed showed abnormal cells were present on the uterus and ovaries. Because of this, the doctor removed everything, including lymph nodes. I am happy to say I am now 1 year cancer free! 

I owe my life to my youngest child. Had it not been for her birth I don't know how much longer the doctors would have let this go on. I wouldn't have been as lucky as I am had it not been for her. If anyone takes one thing away from my story, it's this: I got my check ups religiously, never missed one, and I still got the diagnosis of stage 1a1 cervical cancer. Why? Because I didn't listen to my own body and gut instinct that something was wrong. I thought what I was going thru was normal and trusted that the doctors I was seeing knew best. Had I listened to my myself who's to say it would have gotten to this point. Listen to your body and heart it won't ever steer you wrong. 

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month- Kelly's Story

Kelly is from the St Louis area. Kelly at age 31 was a happily married school teacher when she found out she had cervical cancer. Kelly was told she may not live to see her 33rd birthday. She was diagnosed in December 2011. 

Since her diagnoses Kelly used her instinct and fought hard. Kelly had multiple surgeries leaving her with a complete hysterectomy, without several lymph nodes, bladder and urethra. She went through multiple rounds of chemo and radiation. In May 2013 her scans had shown her to be cancer FREE!! She lived to see her 33rd birthday!

Kelly was on "The Jeff Probst Show" first episode and she announced her diagnoses on the show. The show has also checked in on her and her battle with cervical cancer. 

Kelly was at Our Panties Across the Bridge on July 13, 2013, the 3rd Annual Event. Kelly shared her inspirational story and why it is important to know the signs and symptoms for cervical cancer. At our lighting ceremony Kelly flipped the switch to make the Purple People Bridge teal for the first time in Cincinnati history! 

Thank you Kelly for making the trip to Cincinnati to help us raise awareness for gynecological  cancers. We are rooting for you all the way as you continue your fight.

View Kelly on the Jeff Probst Show

http://www.jeffprobst.com/posts/1582_kelly_pozzoli_one_big_exhale/

http://www.jeffprobst.com/posts/2569_kelly_s_incredible_update/index.html

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month- Kristen's Story

Kristen was a recent college graduate with a whole career ahead of her when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. 

Kristen was 23 when she lost her battle to cervical cancer. Only 11 months after her diagnoses. You can watch Kristen's story here: http://vimeo.com/m/15494353

After Kristen lost her battle her father Kirk took her diary entries and used them as his basis to write "Love, Kristen" for cervical cancer awareness. Kirk when on the tv show Dr. Oz to talk about prevention. You may see the clip here: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/hpv-vaccine-right-your-child-pt-1

Kristen's family created an organization to raise awareness for cervical cancer: The Kristen EVE Foundation. Their goal is to have a cervical cancer free Indiana. Visit their website at www.kristeneve.org. 

Kristen EVE Foundation is our ally in the battle against cervical cancer. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter. We are all in this together. 

Lisa Kalmar's Story with Cervical Cancer

I was diagnosed November 2010 with cervical cancer stage 1b2 with a + node. I was 32 years old with three children and was pregnant. My symptoms were unusual spotting and bleeding with intercourse.  In December I had Radical hysterectomy and lost the baby. I went thru 6 wks of chemo and 30 days radiation. I have 3 beautiful children and the best finance and best of friends and family that was by my side thru it all. I have a Angel baby that saved my life! 3 yrs cancer free!! I pray everyday for strength and guidance to get me thru this terrible disease.

Thank you Lisa for sharing this story of your strength and courage. We are honored you allowed us to share this. Thank you!

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month- Sarah's Journey

This is Sarah’s Journey, our 25 year old Angel. She had the most beautiful blue eyes and a smile that could light up the darkest room. Even when pain set in she always managed to give a smirk or flash that smile of hers.

In Feb 2012 Sarah had a normal Pap smear; it was months following that she would start having issues.  It started with spotting between periods that became more intense through the summer months. She was a stay at home mother of 3 children, just bought a house to and started to remodel it so her family can move into it.

In the beginning of October 2012, she finally went into the doctor after months of irregular periods and heavy bleeding.  Her doctor referred her to go to the James Cancer Hospital in Columbus, OH.   There,they discovered Stage 2B cervical cancer. In the beginning of November, she was prepped for chemo, radiation & brachytherapy.   They tacked one of her ovaries to keep it out of harms way from the radiation so it wouldn’t throw her into menopause.

Heidi (her sister) was the one who took her back and forth to OSU's James Cancer Center. It was usually 2 times a week for chemotherapy. She would be there for hrs. Most of the time she would tell Heidi to go home and she would call her when she was done. She didn't want Heidi around for much of that, Heidi was pregnant. They wanted to do a round or 2 before they started radiation. The radiation started we were driving to the hospital 3-4x a week. Then internal started. That was the hardest to watch. She would be at the hospital for hours upon hours. Some days her counts weren't good enough for her treatment. Some days she was too sick to get out of bed. Some days she wanted to give up. We weren't going to let that happen. She had 3 kids she was fighting for. 

She fought like a champ, always kept a smile on her face. EVEN with all of the poking with needles and rods she still smiled. She was very tired all of the time. Didn't want to eat. The only way we could get her to eat was say hey there is McDonald’s or Wendy's. She would smile and say "Yum!"

November 26th is when chemo & radiation started.  She finished round one of her treatments on January 29, 2013. The following week she started the brachytherapy.  On Feb 15, 2013 she did a MRI at James and they found, she was making great progress and was almost done with this round of treatments. She would finish her treatment at the James. Five days later she would be admitted to OSU for a blood clot near her lungs, she was cleared to go and finished all of her treatments on March 15, 2013 and headed home to Uniopolis, OH to be with her family.

In the beginning of April, Sarah was life flighted from Lima, OH. to James Cancer Hospital for a large mass discovered on her cervix and a blood clot close to her heart.  As it turned out, James knew of the clot and the large mass was the pinned up Ovary.  This was quite the scare and everything was ok, per James Cancer Hospital.   

On April 17th the doctor said everything was a GO to start her second round of Chemo. She never made it to her second round of Chemotherapy due to her car breaking down in route to her appointment at the James Cancer Hospital in Columbus, OH. With newly found clots and kidney damage, Sarah went into surgery to place stints in her kidneys.

On May 7th she had surgery to have stents placed in both kidneys. They were not sure if this would work or not due to all the scar tissue from recent treatments. She is not responding well to the anesthesia, her O2 sats are in the low 80's. They are taking her to recover until they get the breathing tube out and her oxygen saturation back up in the mid 90's. 

Facebook Updates from her husband: she is doing better, getting a blood transfusion now. Her vitals have finally begun to stabilize and we are waiting to get her a room in ICU step down. I probably won't update anymore tonight, but thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. God has always been good to us and I know He will lead us through this if we let him!

A May 7th Update from Lee: Sarah is feeling pretty rough today, her kidneys have all but shut down. She is malnourished and her cancer has become very aggressive. All of the treatment that she needs has to be cleared by her kidneys, which are not working. Sarah will be going down to place Neuf Tubes in her kidneys today. This will hopefully take some pressure off of her renal system. If this does not work, she will need dialyses. She really needs everyone to humble down and pray from your hearts that God will reach down and bless the hands and minds of her doctors. We HAVE to get these kidneys working so that she can get back on chemo! Thank you for the support and love.

May 8- Update from Lee: Sarah is feeling much better today. The neuphrostomy tubes seem to be working. With the help of Lasics, she has been filling the drainage bags quite frequently. Her coratinin levels dropped down to 5.2 from 6.93 yesterday. We are finally heading in the right direction. Sarah is actually sitting in a chair today! We will continue to work on regaining strength, getting her off O2, and getting her pain in control. We have yet to hear what the exact plan is for going home or for starting chemo. I am confident in Sarah and her recently renewed will to fight! We will get out of this hospital, we will beat this cancer, and we WILL live long enough to call this nothing more than a distant memory!

May 9th- Doctors at James have exhausted all medical resources to help our Sarah; she will be going home on hospice on May 14th.

                                               

May 14- Sarah’s last Facebook post, “Finally home, whoever helped with our house I wish I could hug every single person. It is so breath taking and refreshing.... Now it’s time for me to get better. Love all of you and just asking for prayers.”

May 20, 2013 at 4:45 a.m. Our Sarah took her last breath and became Our Teal Angel.

 

Sarah Jane we love and miss you dearly and we will never forget you!!

Love your parents: Mary, Tom & Sue

Your Sisters: Rachel, Deidre, Arienne, & Heidi

Your 3 little Clones: Lauren, Bubba, & Lyndsay

And your Best Friend Kacey <3

 

 

                                   

 

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month- Meganne's Story

Meganne turned 21 on June 12, 2010.  

She was in a committed relationship with a nice young man. She had health insurance thru her employment. She was generally healthy.  In September she and some friends started planning a cruise to Mexico for the spring of 2011.  In November, about the same time she paid for her cruise, she began complaining of random pelvic pain, nausea, unexplained bleeding and changes in her digestion.  She was busy being 21 and chalked the symptoms off to polycystic ovarian syndrome. Both her sisters had been diagnosed with PCOS and she just didn’t have time to deal with doctors and diet changes.  Besides, her symptoms were not all happening at the same time, they were not happening every day, and they were not severe enough to keep her from working and planning her wardrobe for the cruise.  

In January of 2012 she noticed her daily bowel habits were changing. She was trying to lose weight for her cruise so she tried using laxatives without any real results.  Her pelvic pain was frequent and she also had pain in her lower back. She began living with a heating pad, switching it from front to back and back to front.  She spent many evenings soaking in a hot bath to ease the discomfort she was feeling.  She also began having vomiting episodes that would last for a few hours and subside after a night’s sleep. Her periods were “weird” and she had discomfort and bled profusely when she and her boyfriend attempted to be intimate.  

She began missing work sporadically but refused to go to the doctor, too focused on her cruise! The randomness of bad days was the bulk of her argument to not go to the doctor.  Also, the standard is if you “have symptoms that last more than 2 weeks, seek medical attention.” Her symptoms came and went; she was not generally sick 2 days in a row.  

She went on her cruise in April, 2011, and had a great time!  When she returned she was still in the same pattern – heating pad, hot baths, random vomiting, pelvic pain. 

The first week in May she did a random check of her blood pressure while we were at Walmart. It was very high – but she was feeling good that day, she hadn’t even been on the heating pad! 

The second week in May, she called me from work asking for a ride home because she was vomiting. I said, “Sure, but we are going straight to doctor. This has gone on long enough.” 

Her blood pressure was elevated and the doctor did blood work and sent us on our way. Before we got home they called noting that her blood test indicated an infection and she was prescribed and antibiotic.  She was also scheduled appointments with a kidney doctor and stomach doctor. 

A few days later she woke up with a fever. We made another trip to the doctor. High blood pressure, vomiting, pelvic pain – we were instructed to go on to the ER so more tests could be run.  She was admitted to the hospital for enlarged, infected kidneys.  It was quickly determined that her ureters (both sides) were blocked, not allowing her kidneys to drain to her bladder.  

While in the hospital she was asked if she had ever had a pap smear. She was not taking birth control so was not under a gynecologist’s care.  As far as she knew, she had a pap smear the year before at the health department. We found out that unless the doctor at the health department “saw” anything suspicious they would not have performed an actual pap smear. If a patient is under 21 they don’t perform a smear unless there is an issue or evidence of an issue. This is one question we never got an answer to – did she get a smear or not? 

In the course of that first week in the hospital the biggest question was “Why are her kidneys infected?”  She had what seemed like every antibiotic known to man administered via IV fluids; pneumonia set in; she received 4 blood transfusions; an infectious disease doctor was consulted (due to the cruise taken in early April); a urologist placed stents to allow drainage of her kidneys to her bladder and a gynecologist was called in by the urologist.  The gynecologist confirmed what the urologist suspected - a large tumor on her cervix.  When the urologist came to see us after he placed the stents we heard the word cancer mentioned for the first time. The walls closed in … our lives changed forever.  

She was subsequently diagnosed with stage 3B cervical cancer.  She passed away April 2, 2012, from complications caused by the cancer treatment - a ruptured bowel. It was just 11 months after her first visit to the doctor. 

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month- Natalie's Symptoms.

Natalie Davis was 27 years old when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. 

She was a young wonderful caring mother to her daughter Brookln when cervical cancer changed their life's forever. Natalie lost her battle 6 months after her diagnoses. Natalie's mother Rhonda tell us about Natalie's journey with cervical cancer. She stated that Natalie had symptoms that included weight loss, unusual bleeding, being tired, and she had pain in her lower back and in her legs. When Natalie's symptoms began she already was in stage 4 of cervical cancer. Here is Rhonda's story. 

​“You have cancer”… These were words I never wanted to hear as a mother. Like most parents, as your children grow into adults you hope they do the right things in life. For women, that means keeping up with yearly pap smears is important.

​I had noticed in December 2010 Natalie was more tired and did not look like her old self. I never pushed the issue about what maybe going on with her or if she needed to go to the doctor. Then I got a call on May 12, 2011 at approximately 1:00 AM from Natalie. “Mom I am at University Hospital and they are going to give me blood.” I told her I would be right there! After arriving they had completed a variety of tests including a pelvic exam and biopsy. The results came back that Natalie had stage 4 cervical cancer. At that moment my life had stopped, and I nearly fainted. I started crying uncontrollably and my dear Natalie wrapped her arms around me and told me, “It’s going to be okay mom. I WILL get through this.” We just sat there and held each other and cried.

​Within a week she was in surgery and immediately started chemo and radiation. After learning she had cancer and learning what stage 4 meant, we began to fight. One night a family member texted me and told me I should read an article that had run on the nightly news. It was about a young 14 year old girl who had lost her mother to cervical cancer and was talking about hanging panties across the Purple People Bridge. Wanting to know the details of her mom to see if they were any of the same symptoms and issues Natalie was dealing with, we started to look for her on Facebook. And then I found her, Hope Jamison.

​I messaged Hope and asked if she would mind to talk about it and she was very open about what she knew. I later started speaking to her grandmother and Jaymie’s mom Cheryl in hope of getting answers to what we were dealing with. We have kept in touch from that day forward. They invited us to the 1st Annual Panty Party for Panties Across the Bridge. Natalie and I attended this together. It was very touching when I met Cheryl. We made this connection as mothers with daughters with cancer that could never be broken.

​Natalie attended the 1st ever Panties Across the Bridge that year and touched many lives. Natalie never let this disease get her down. She remained strong and positive no matter what her day was like. She knew she had to be strong and fight. Natalie was a mother to a 5 year old daughter, Brookln. She wanted and needed to be there for her. Even after being told there was nothing more the doctors could do and being told she had to go under the care of Hospice, she remained positive and strong. Natalie’s friend Nicole came up with an idea of her signing cards from holidays to birthdays so Brookln would always have them to cherish. As hard as it was to write to her daughter knowing she was not going to be there for her Natalie was able to write cards for several years of birthdays. These will be treasured by Brookln forever.

​Natalie put up a strong fight and did everything she could to try and beat this horrible disease, but it gradually just took over her. Natalie passed away exactly 6 months to the day of her diagnoses and to almost the exact hour. She is missed deeply and there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think how I wish I just had my daughter back. I can never say that I am not proud of my daughter for how hard she tried and what she had done.

​The Jaymie Jamison Foundation came into our lives early into our journey and they still remain in my life. They have been there from the beginning of our journey to the end. Cheryl is unlike anyone I have ever met. She was mourning the recent loss of her own daughter when I met her, but never gave it as second thought to be there for me. This is why I am so compassionate about the Jaymie Jamison Foundation for Hope. These are a group of people who truly care and will go to many ends to help and get things done. I just want to tell them all from the bottom of my heart that they are loved and to keep on fighting for awareness for gynecological cancers.