I Was Diagnosed with Cervical Cancer Three Months After Giving Birth
“Some of the docs questioned whether the pregnancy may have actually sped up the cancer.” (Photo: Heather Bank)
Heather Banks was 31-years-old and pregnant with her second baby when her first abnormal pap smear turned up. “I had gone in for my routine six weeks pregnancy appointment, and the lab said some of my cells from my pap looked funny,” she says. Her doctor performed an HPV test, which showed she was carrying a high-risk strain. “The doc said the virus could flush out of my system with the birth of the baby, so I wasn’t too worried,” she says.
But he was wrong.
Banks had unusual bleeding after delivering the baby (the only symptom that something was off), and one biopsy led to another. Three months after giving birth, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. “Some of the docs questioned whether the pregnancy may have actually sped up the cancer, but they can’t be sure,” says Heather. “It all happened so fast.”
(Photo: Heather Banks)
Banks’ initial reaction to the news was confusion. “I was supposed to start teaching a new school year in eight days, I knew next to nothing about HPV or the fact that it can lay dormant for years—I kept wondering, ‘Why do I have this, and why now?’” says Heather.
And then her thoughts turned to her kids. “Those first 48 hours, all you can think is: ‘I have cancer, and that means I’m going to die. And I have these two precious kiddos, a 3-month-old and a 3-year-old, who are never going to know me or remember me,'” says Heather.
Just two weeks after she received the cancer diagnosis, Heather underwent surgery for a radical hysterectomy, meaning her uterus, cervix, and ovaries were removed. A lymph node where the cancer had spread was also removed. She spent six weeks recovering and then started daily radiation, along with weekly chemo for nine weeks, finishing up right around Thanksgiving. The hysterectomy threw her body into early menopause, bringing on an onslaught of hot flashes and other symptoms, but she was one of the lucky ones: The cancer had quit. And she’s been without it for seven years.
“Those first 48 hours, all you can think is: 'I have cancer, and that means I’m going to die.’”
“I’m healthy now, but the fear of reoccurrence is there,” says Heather. “It crosses my mind on a weekly basis.” Heather has yearly scans and has dealt with the blow of early menopause ever since her surgery. “I’m 40, but sometimes I feel like I’m in the body of a 60-year-old, which is really overwhelming,” she says. “I have to be careful about my bone density since I’m not making estrogen.” Still, the experience has left her with a drive stronger than ever to advocate for women’s health. “I used to be so passive at the doctor’s office, wanting to get out of there as fast as possible, but I want women to feel empowered and ask questions,” says Heather. “Not all doctors screen for HPV during a pap exam, so make sure to ask. If I had had an HPV test at 30 I would have known my risk, and things might have been different.”
More from Women’s Health:
This Woman’s Pimple Turned Out to Be a Rare Form of Skin Cancer
There’s Finally Some Good News to Report About Cancer
The Simple Thing Women Can Do—but Aren't—to Prevent Getting Cervical Cancer
By Kristen Dold
