My old-fashioned, immigrant mother would not have appreciated
this, but I'll admit it... I was sexually active before I was married. Are you gasping?
I even used birth control, which explains why I didn't have children until I
was 30 years old. As if that's not enough, I received care at (wait for
it...) Planned Parenthood as a young adult. Yes, Planned Parenthood. That's
where, as a poor college student with no health insurance, I learned how
to take care of myself and went for my annual checkups.
One of the annual
exams in my early twenties revealed abnormal cell growth in my
cervix. This led to a biopsy, a procedure to remove the abnormal cells and
instructions for frequent Pap tests, a screening
procedure that can find changes in the cervix before cancer develops.
Several years
later (after I finished college, became gainfully employed with health
insurance, married my wonderful husband and continued frequent checkups at a
private clinic) another routine exam revealed abnormal cells, but
this time it was more serious. The pathology report called it a
"severe abnormality." I was referred to an oncologist at a premier
Cleveland hospital, and I was terrified. He explained that women can
develop cervical cancer without any symptoms and I was very lucky to have an
early warning.
Cervical cancer is deadly. About12,170 new cases of invasive
cervical cancer will be diagnosed and about 4,220 women will die from
cervical cancer in 2012 according to the American Cancer Society. These are dramatically lower numbers than those from a
few decades ago before Pap tests became
commonplace.
At this point, I
was in the last precancerous stage and there was no time to waste. A
biopsy, procedure and another biopsy later, I was good to go.
How fortunate was
I? I too would have died had it not been for the care and awareness
I received at Planned Parenthood when I was young and poor and my
access to world-class care as a gainfully employed professional. Having been on
both sides of this fence, I know cancer does not discriminate. Today, I'm
the mother of three beautiful children and a fan of birth control, Planned Parenthood
and access to quality health care for all women. And, I want no less for my
daughter than was available to me.
I'll admit one
more thing: It took me several days to decide to publish this post.
"Too private," I thought. But as politicians continued their assault
on women, I decided I had to speak up. I wonder how many women have similar
stories but have shied away from sharing them. For the sake of our daughters
and their daughters, let's not waste any more time.
Please share your story HERE or find your own way to speak up. Access
to quality care for women of every age, color and income level is not child's
play or material for political grandstanding. It saves lives. Our daughters'
lives are too precious.