Patricia Salazar shares her experience with HPV and cervical cancer
Patricia Salazar is an avid endurance athlete.
After receiving an abnormal Pap smear, she was told she had Stage 2B Cervical Cancer.
Ive been a triathlete for about five years now.
Photo Courtesy of Patricia Salazar / Designed by Don Eschenauer and Jaime Yong
I run marathons, hike miles of elevation, bike, and swim.
Endurance sports have become a passion of mine.
When youre an endurance athlete and constantly push yourself to overcome physical and mental obstacles, you feel invincible.
I thought nothing could happen to me; Im the healthiest Ive ever been.
But even healthy people can get sick.
It was never something that worried me.
I thought nothing could happen to me; Im the healthiest Ive ever been.
Around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was casually dating.
I figured I should go in for aPap smear, but I had also switched jobs and insurance.
Plus, COVID made getting appointments more difficult.
So I put off my Pap smear and hit the road.
I did a 100-mile, 12-hour mountain bike ride that was insane.
I even met my now-fiance while fearlessly hiking in Bryce Canyon.
The trip put me on top of the world.
And then I came home and finally got my Pap test.
The test came back with abnormal results, which seemed fine because I had had abnormal tests before.
I assumed Id get cream or oral antibiotics, and everything would clear up.
I took it in my car in the parking lot of the gym.
She told me that I have squamous cell carcinoma on my cervix.
She explained the next steps to me and asked if I had any questions.
I asked her, So youre telling me I have cervical cancer?
She told me, Yes, you have cervical cancer.
Moving Forward With Treatment
There were some things that, in hindsight, weresigns of cervical cancer.
I had beenspotting between periodsand occasionally after intercourse, and hadabnormal discharge.
What is normal for women anyways?
They were nervous that it was starting to spread to the top of my vaginal canal.
My gynecologist warned me that I needed to be prepared if I was told that I couldnt have babies.
I went to get my first opinion at Stanford.
I walked in with a list of questions that my fiance and I had typed up.
The doctor drew a diagram of what my reproductive system looks like.
He showed me where the cancer was and told me that I wouldnt be able to carry children.
My two options were chemotherapy and radiation or aradical hysterectomy.
HPV-16 or HPV-18 are usually the variants that can lead to cervical cancer.
There arevaccinesnow, but my generation didnt have them.
I was worried that the longer I waited to make the decision, the more it would spread.
At this point, I had only known my fiance for four months.
He assured me that we were in this together.
There were several nights that he watched me cry myself to sleep over FaceTime.
Hes been an angel.
When I go into a race, I get my big curly hair braided into cornrows.
I call them my battle braids because I race hard; I go into battle.
I decided that I would have battle braids for my surgery as well.
My fiance had his hair braided, too.
Two weeks after my eggs were harvested, on December 15th, I went in for surgery.
I was so thankful to keep my ovaries, avoiding menopause at 32.
My form of therapy has always been exercise.
My body just didnt feel like my own for two and a half months.
Between the hormones and the pelvic exams, I almost became numb to it.
I cried in the arms of my fiance for an hour and a half.
It was a visceral reaction because its there, and it will be there.
It was external proof of the internal battle.
I wanted my body to feel like my own again.
Before cancer, I could look at my pace and splits and judge my strengths on a numerical basis.
The strength I was gaining from this journey was a different kind of strength.
Five weeks after the procedure, the doctor called me to discuss preventive radiation.
Based on the size of the tumor and its invasiveness, there was a 30% chance of recurrence.
I didnt want to risk it, so I went to radiation five days a week for five weeks.
The radiation took a toll on my GI (gastrointestinal) tract and bladder.
Retaining nutrients was hard, and I was dehydrated most of the time.
I also had constant headaches and nausea.
It wasnt an Ironman, but it was what I could do at the moment.
Ive always had a training plan.
Every day there was a run, bike, or swim to do.
I treated cancer the same way.
There was a finish line; I didnt know when I would get there.
I knew that there would be tough weeks, just like tough workouts.
Some days would feel easier than others.
There was a three-year period when I didnt have my period because I ran marathons.
Who knows if that contributed to my situation.
If I could change one thing about this experience, I would have said something sooner.
But Im not the only person whos experienced nervousness around an abnormal Pap.
(About) 85% of women will experience HPV.
It just depends on how your body reacts to it.
Self-advocacy is also huge.
But at the same time, Im still here.
Im still able to get on my bike.
Im still able to run.
I have the potential to have biological children, and to me, that trumps every negative thing.
Even with my scars, there is strength.
Thats a pretty cool story!
Battling cancer took such a physical and mental toll.
At that moment, I felt like myself again.
