Cancer can be isolating, and it’s easy to see where friends and family members who haven’t personally dealt with cancer—and if they have, probably haven’t dealt with your specific cancer—aren’t able to fully relate and a patient can feel alone in some ways.
The volunteer chapter leaders who work with ASHA’s National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC) understand this well. Many chapter leaders are cervical cancer survivors or patients, while others are family members who lost a loved one to the disease.
In the NCCC’s Cervical Cancer Survivor Series, we share stories from several NCCC chapter leaders. They touch on a range of topics including diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. They also offer advice to others facing a diagnosis as well as family and friends of cervical cancer patients. Below you’ll find some episodes from the eight-part series. You can listen to the full series, including interviews with health care providers, at NCCC.
In this episode we speak to NCCC chapter leader Selena Rushton about her survivorship story, and the many complications she experienced during her treatment. After her cancer returned. Selina was told she only had months to live. That was eight years ago.
In this episode we speak to Cherlya Thompson about the wonderful support she received during her cancer treatment, which took place far from home, and how that experience inspired her to help others. Cherlya also tells us about how she had to teach her grandchild’s pediatrician about the importance of the HPV vaccine.
In this episode we speak to NCCC chapter leader Shaundra Hall. Shaundra tells us that her very first Pap test came back abnormal, but she still didn’t know anything about cervical cancer when she was diagnosed. She also talks about how this experience changed the course of her life, both personally and professionally. To learn more about clinical trials, visit clinicaltrials.gov.
In this episode we speak to NCCC chapter leader Jen English. Jen had a lot of experience in sexual health, and was comfortable talking about the topic, but she realized how much she didn’t know about HPV and cervical health when she was diagnosed with early stage cervical cancer. Her experience inspired her to become an NCCC chapter leader.
In this episode, we speak to Aisha McClellan. Aisha went to a clinic with symptoms, and was sent home with antibiotics for an STI she didn’t have. It took three visits before she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Aisha had to be her own advocate for health care, which inspired her to become an advocate on TikTok, where she has over 25,000 followers.
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ASHA believes that all people have the right to the information and services that will help them to have optimum sexual health. We envision a time when stigma is no longer associated with sexual health and our nation is united in its belief that sexuality is a normal, healthy, and positive aspect of human life.
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