Amy’s Cancer Journey
Amy’s battle with cancer during the pandemic shows strength & courage. Read her inspiring journey to recovery and beyond!
Amy // 30 Stories Campaign™ // Oral Cancer Awareness
In November 2019, I had a persistent sore throat. I went to urgent care and came back with an antibiotic prescription for strep throat. Multiple weeks went by without any improvement. Concerned, I sought out a local primary care doctor, who referred me to an ENT specialist. Just before the holidays, I underwent a biopsy, which came back positive for oropharyngeal cancer a couple of days later. Despite the weight of the diagnosis, I chose to focus on celebrating my mom’s birthday, which is on Christmas Eve, and the rest of the holidays before sharing the news with family after New Year’s.
As I faced the daunting prospect of treatment, my family’s own experiences with cancer lent me both support and insight. My mom was treated for lip cancer many years ago, and she insisted that we go visit the same doctor after experiencing the great quality of care that she received. My dad also battled esophageal cancer for two years before he passed.
Despite the emotional upheaval, my doctor provided a glimmer of hope by confirming that the cancer had not spread. The road ahead was filled with rounds of chemotherapy and radiation for 2 months. The side effects took a toll on my body, including severe nausea that led to a frightening incident. When I was at my mom’s place, I passed out while I was throwing up and hit my head hard.
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With all these events unfolding over two weeks, I felt overwhelmed… Iremember being so angry…
I was hospitalized to be monitored, and the doctors discovered that my heart was stopping each time I vomited because it was affecting my vagus nerve. By the second month of radiation treatment, my mouth was full of sores, which made eating impossible. I had to have a pacemaker and a feeding tube in me. With all these events unfolding over two weeks, I felt overwhelmed. I was in intensive care for a while too. I remember being so angry because I was not allowed to have any pain medication–my blood pressure was just too low.
Throughout the grueling treatment process, I persisted, never letting cancer dictate my life. Even hospitalizations for pneumonia couldn’t keep me away from work, and I was on my computer while all these events unfolded. I found solace in the distraction my work provided. Then, COVID-19 hit and everyone went remote. If I were to be honest, although the pandemic was a terrible event, it helped me in a certain way. Because everyone came to a standstill, the standstill that cancer caused in my life did not seem as devastating. My absence was less noticeable and I was able to take advantage of the flexibility of working remotely.
After I completed chemotherapy and radiation in April 2020, my doctors monitored my throat for 3 months. Another biopsy in the summer confirmed my need for surgery. The doctors determined that surgery was the best course of action to take out the cancer remaining in my soft palate and throat. They took out most of my soft palate during that surgery.
The most challenging aspect of navigating the pandemic was not having any emotional support going into my treatments due to visitor restrictions.
I went through another round of chemotherapy and radiation starting in January 2021. This time, I received proton radiation because it specifically targeted the area that my cancer was in. Driving into the city to get my treatment was terrible because of the traffic. My mother insisted on driving me every day, which was very kind of her.
The most challenging aspect of navigating the pandemic was not having any emotional support going into my treatments due to visitor restrictions. My mom had to wait inside the car. However, I am grateful that there were no delays in my care despite such unprecedented times.
After I completed the second round of radiation, I had to get back on the feeding tube because my mouth was severely affected, and I could not swallow. My speech-language pathologist will tell you that I was a tricky patient to deal with because I had to learn to swallow again. On top of that, the jaw exercises to increase the opening of my mouth were painful and challenging. Learning to eat is a lot harder than you think because it’s such an automatic process. Don’t take your ability to swallow for granted!
…it may not be easy, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Just keep pushing forward and showing up for yourself and your loved ones.
Everything was better by 2022. I was eating more, swallowing, and following up with my doctors every 3-6 months. Around March 2023, I faced another setback. In a short amount of time, my jaw became swollen and tender. The CT scan of my head revealed the radiation had deteriorated most of my jaw, and whatever bone was left had broken.
I underwent reconstructive surgery to restore my jaw using bone from my leg. My condition improved drastically from that point on. I am happy to say that my most recent PET scan came back cancer-free!
My advice to fellow patients echoes my own experience: it may not be easy, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Just keep pushing forward and showing up for yourself and your loved ones. Take it one day at a time. This journey has been difficult and overwhelming, but I came out the other end knowing that I am capable of handling everything and anything that life throws at me.
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