Julia Devillers never imagined a sexually transmitted common infection she had at university would be the cause of her rare cancer Decades later.
Devillers, an author, began to feel randomly blood, seeing red in his underwear. She blamed bleeding on the first signs of menopause – As a woman in their fifties, she thought it was time.
One day, she was sitting by the pool and saw blood had dipped the towel under her.
She said: “I bled on it, and I thought:” Wow, it brings me back to my pre-adolescent years to be traumatized when you get your fist period. “I thought:” It’s a very dramatic period “.
The first symptoms of perimenopause, the period preceding menopause, include irregular bleeding of various flows and lengths – but what the Devillers did not achieve is that bleeding came from its anus, not from its vagina.
She said, “I did not know that bleeding came from my tash. I thought I got my rules again.
However, when she realized, she knew that bleeding from the anus could be a sign of cancer.
Suspected doctors a hemorrhoid to be the culpritand carried out surgery to remove it. But instead of finding swollen veins, the doctors found two tumors. She had the third step anal cancer – Rare cancer linked to human papillomavirus STI (HPV).
Julia Devillers began to regularly feel mysterious bloods of blood, as well as paralyzing fatigue
“It was not non-stop. All of a sudden, I would have a rise in blood. I really begged them to put me on a waiting list (for hemorrhoid elimination surgery), it said TODAY.
His operation in May 2022 was to be a standard and simple procedure that would end his suffering.
“When I got out, I was really groggy of anesthesia, but I remember that my husband was holding one hand and that my doctor was holding the other hand,” said Devillers.
Anal cancer cells had migrated to its lymph nodes, making it stage 3.
Between 40 and 70 percent of patients die within five years of the diagnosis of this cancer stage.
Anal cancer, which develops in the anal canal, is rare, with 10,540 new cases in 2024 and 2,190 deaths.
It is different from colon or rectal cancer and is generally caused by HPV infection.
In an article Devillers wrote For Newsweek, she said: “I have been married for a million years! But I also remembered back to the university, my gynecologist saying: “You have human papillomavirus (HPV), don’t worry, it’s common, harmless and will probably disappear alone.”
Estimates suggest that 80% of sexually active people will contract at least one HPV infection by 45. It spreads through skin to skin through a vaginal, anal or oral sex. It often shows no symptoms.
According to the CDC, more than 42 million Americans are currently infected with STI and it is estimated that 13 million people become infected every year.
It is possible to postpone HPV and cancers potentially linked with a vaccine for the virus which is 97%effective.
Doctors have prescribed Devillers with aggressive IV chemotherapy, as well as radiotherapist treatments and oral chemotherapy.
Just before three weeks after her treatment and her second infusion of chemo IV, she managed well. She visited her friends, worked and could enter her doctor’s office without assisted. But after her second infusion, she “seemed to crash and burn,” she said
Just before three weeks after her treatment and her second chemo infusion, she was fine, bUT after her second infusion, she “seemed to crash and burn,” she said today.
His colon has become twisted, causing excruciating pain. She vomited the neon green bile and then collapsed in the emergency room. She ended up spending five weeks in the intensive care unit.
The doctors noticed that his number of blood cells had dropped and called his children because they did not know how long Devillers had left. They also enlisted palliative care.
“It was horrible for my family,” she said, adding that she could feel her body close.
“I saw this dark tunnel and he had two white light bites,” said Devillers. It lasted a day or two and I felt the darkness. I was very depressed.
But she started to feel better after a blood transfusion.
Devillers had lost about 30 pounds and had become weak and fragile, but his cancer had not decreased enough to bring it closer to the remission, and she still had to undergo radiotherapy.
When his treatment ended in August 2022, the doctors approached it with “good prudent news”. There was no remaining signs of cancer, although they were still worried about a lymph ganglion that had caused a bump in his abdomen
“Even as sick as me, they made me ride in radiation,” she said.
“My radiologist, I will always be grateful to you. He said, “If we stop now, it could come back. But if we continue to go to radiation … This is what will get rid of the tumor. ” »»
When his treatment ended in August 2022, the doctors approached it with “good prudent news”. There was no sign of cancer, although they were always concerned about a lymph node which had caused a bump in its abdomen.
Six months later, however, she was without cancer. It has been three years since his diagnosis and all his tests continue to be normal.
Devillers felt embarrassed by his cancer at the start. When people asked her questions about it, she said, “Yeah, I have Tash cancer. “”
“Everything that should not say anal and then I learned that anal cancer is an animal different from rectal cancer or colon.”
Now she has joined the board of directors of the HPV Cancer Alliance to eliminate stigma and raise awareness of Cancers related to HPV.
She said, “Women understand. Men understand. Everything is directly linked to obtaining the HPV.
