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SAN ANTONIO – About 4,000 women die each year from cervical cancer. However, when detected at an early stage, the five-year survival rate of women with invasive cervical cancer exceeds 90%.
Linda Martinez is one of the people who contracted her illness very early and she is now on the verge of not having cancer.
Martinez's cervical cancer was diagnosed with a Pap smear in March. She says she's sure to have regular Pap smears, but said the positive result had shocked her.
"It was a surprise for me," she said. "After that, the doctor m prescribed tests to determine what kind of cancer it was."
Martinez showed no symptoms, but Dr. Rochelle David, badociate professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UT Health in San Antonio, said that it was normal at first.
"For cervical cancer in the early stages that we can detect, there really are not many symptoms, which is why it is very important that women come for their regular screening," he said. David said.
In later stages, some of the symptoms of cervical cancer include abnormal badl bleeding, unusual badl discharge, pelvic, back or leg pain, fatigue and severe nausea, and sudden weight loss.
For Martinez, side effects, including nausea, weakness and depression, were a problem.
The side effects have diminished and, now that she is about to complete six rounds of chemotherapy this month, Martinez says that her faith and her family have helped her through all that.
"Once, I felt that my sister was my hands, my feet, everything, because she did everything for me," she said. "I could not do it."
The HPV vaccine helps stop the spread of cancer of the cervix and five other cancers. It is approved for men and women ages 9 to 45 years. Martinez was not early enough to receive it, but she said everyone should get the vaccine to avoid experiences like hers.
For more information on family health, call (21) 358-3045. You can also find the rest of our Wear the Gown stories here.
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