Gretchen Anthony hadn’t been to an OB-GYN since her six-year-old child was born. “I didn’t have any medical issues, so I didn’t feel pressure to go,” she says. “I was busy. Life just got in the way.” When she finally went for a physical, prompted by a concerned sister, she discovered she had high grade HPV—human papillomavirus—which had caused cancer cells to grow on her cervix.
The surgeon tasked with giving her a hysterectomy said that it was the worst case of cervical cancer he had ever seen. And while his team was able to arrest the cancer before it spread, the operation permanently changed the hormonal balance of her body. She sweats profusely all the time and hasn’t been able to enjoy sex since. READ MORE
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