Chantel Nicole

Cancer Survivor Helping others Survive

Having a large family was a dream of mine. A houseful of little footsteps and voices. That all changed when at 17 I was informed that there was “something” wrong. Just something. No defined answer just the elusive “something” . Being a female can be difficult at the best of times, add to that medical complications with your reproductive system and it seems like an unscaleable mountain. Many treatments, and years of pain later I’m now married and wanting to start my own family at 20 tender years of age. This “something” problem was exaggerated with my pregnancy and finally given a name.... Endometriosis...

I would struggle with treatments and therapies for the next 3 years trying to build that big family I always wanted. Despite the odds I would welcome another daughter though it nearly killed me. Now 23 and told I would never have another child I was just too ill. Two more years of surgeries, treatments and therapies didn’t even make a dent. I’m now 25 and getting sicker.

Real talk. The disease was growing so fast I was in real danger now. Its the big C word..... my cells were mutating and growing at 10x the rate and I was looking at some major decisions. At 25 years old with two small beautiful daughters I had 3 very difficult choices. Keep going with current strategy and hope it starts working, chemotherapy, or surgery to totally remove my reproductive organs. The issues became grave with the added knowledge that current rate of disease I might only have 5 years to live. That’s with treatment. It was a not a cure. The only cure was surgery, however with my state of illness I had a 50% chance of not only failure but death on the table.

Well I was already dying anyway right? So I chose surgery. A total and complete hysterectomy at age 25. Surgery with a 50/50 shot at life. I cried on that operating table. I cried for my girls. I cried at the loss of the family I wanted to have. I cried for my family that might have seen me for the last time. I closed my eyes praying to the Lord I would open them again so I could hold my two beautiful daughters.

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