Over the course of a year and a half, I saw six different doctors about rectal bleeding. Each one dismissed it as hemorrhoids. It wasn't until the last doctor I saw that anything changed — she examined me in the office, performed a small procedure right then and there, and immediately scheduled me for a colonoscopy on July 5th.
The results came back: HPV 16, anal cancer. There was a tumor at the entrance, 10 cm inside, and two nodes on the left gland.
I began treatment in August — but nothing about my case was straightforward. I have a rare genetic disorder that prevents my body from metabolizing chemotherapy at full strength, so I started at 50% of the standard dose, with two chemo agents (5-FU and one additional drug), plus six weeks of radiation Monday through Friday. For my last dose of chemo, we were able to increase to 75%.
I finished treatment on October 24th. Three days later, on October 27th, I was admitted to the hospital with severe radiation burns that had become infected. I went through 38 rounds of antibiotics before I healed.
My three-month follow-up was February 7, 2026. I am clean. But the worry never fully goes away. This is why I am motivation to support others through being a peer mentor. Keep smiling, stay strong, you are stronger than you think.
