October 11, 2025

AJ Shows the World the True Face of Stage 4B Cervical Cancer

AJ shares her story about living with stage 4B cervical cancer. Her sincerity and the drive behind her mission shine through: to encourage other women to prioritize their health and get a Pap smear.

Interviewed by: Carly Knowlton
Edited by: Chris Sanchez

She openly admits that, like many women, she explained away her early symptoms — bloating, cramping, pain, and bleeding during intimacy — because she was busy and assumed they were signs of something else. It wasn’t until the symptoms became impossible to ignore that AJ discovered that she had cervical cancer, which, moreover, had already spread extensively. Reflecting on this, she gently but firmly urges other women not to ignore or dismiss their own warning signs.

AJ also zeroes in on the emotional side of living with cancer. She notes that we often hide the hardest parts from our loved ones. She wants to be the face of cervical cancer so that others can understand what their loved ones might be silently enduring.

Transitioning between the raw realities of treatment and the deep love for her family, AJ talks openly about her long chemotherapy days, side effects such as nausea and weight loss, and the twice-daily injections that leave her stomach covered in bruises. But she also highlights small positives with a touch of humor, like how showers now take only three minutes since she shaved her head on her own terms.

Community support has been a lifeline for AJ. Friends and campground neighbors have brought her meals, helped with her dog, and offered other gestures big and small that remind her that she isn’t alone. Her faith has also become an anchor, giving her courage to keep moving forward even on the hardest nights.

AJ’s message is clear and empowering: listen to your body, get your Pap smear, and don’t hide your reality to make others more comfortable. By sharing her experience, she’s offering both a warning and a warm invitation to women everywhere: take care of yourself, advocate for yourself, and trust that speaking openly about cervical cancer can create understanding and change.

Watch AJ’s video and scroll through the transcript of her interview below. You will:

Discover why she believes that showing the real face of cervical cancer can change lives
Learn about the quiet emotional struggles families rarely see, and why she shares them
Find out how one RV-loving grandmother balances chemo, courage, and community support
Learn AJ’s heartfelt advice on the Pap smear that could save your life
Discover the small yet empowering ways she keeps control through her cervical cancer story

Name: AJ H.
Diagnosis:
- Cervical Cancer
Staging:
- Stage 4B
Symptoms:
- Pain in ovaries
- Discomfort and bleeding during intercourse
- Consistent bloating in abdomen
- Cramping
- Severe back pain
Treatment:
- Chemotherapy

This interview has been edited for clarity and length. This is not medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider to make informed treatment decisions.

The views and opinions expressed in this interview do not necessarily reflect those of The Patient Story.

Transcript of AJ’s Interview

My name is AJ
How I knew something was “off”
How I found my care team
My treatment plan
My side effects from chemo
How I cope living alone
My support system
I look at life differently now
What I want others to know

My name is AJ

I’m from Arizona. I was diagnosed with stage 4B cervical cancer on July 16th, 2025.

I am a full-time RVer. My travels have been limited recently due to my diagnosis, but for the past couple of years, I’ve been traveling through the United States, and I’ve done some incredible things. I’m an avid reader, a bibliophile, if you will. Absolutely love books, the texture, the smell. Horses are a big passion of mine and my family.

I had 12 horses. When I actually did what I had done, I had a ranch, I created a non-profit, and I would rescue the horses from slaughter, rehab them, train them, and then military and first responders with PTSD or injuries could come out for equine therapy. So when I went full-time RVing, I gave my horses to some people who were frequent visitors for equine therapy so they could continue what was helping them so much. Though it was very costly, it was impactful.

And I’m a good cook. I can make anybody fat.

I have seven grandbabies.

How I knew something was “off”

As females often do, I dismissed many of my symptoms. I blamed them on other things. Even though I’m in menopause, my ovaries hurt, I’m bloated, and I’m cramping. All of those were symptoms that I wasn’t paying attention to, pain and bleeding during intercourse.

I had had a series of three surgeries. I was kicked in the abdomen by a horse, my fault, not hers. And for the past almost three years, I would contact the surgeon and say, “I’m bleeding during intercourse.” And it went from just spotting to a stage where it would be all the way down to my knees and dripping off my thighs. I ended up thinking I had kidney stones. So I went to the ER, and the first doctor immediately told me, “This is stage three cancer.” And I thought, “Well, how do you know, you didn’t even do a biopsy?” And he referred me to another physician at GYN, and she was absolutely incredible. And she immediately, as soon as she put the spectrum, she said, “This is stage three, probably stage four cancer.”

I was referred to a GYN oncologist, and she too had the same comment. She said she would almost bet her career that it was stage four cancer. So I had the PET scans, and they confirmed that it was stage four B cervical cancer that had metastasized to my cervix, abdominal lymph nodes, the mediastinum, the entire mammary chain, the lymph nodes in the neck, the trachea, and the voice box.

To the point where I noticed them and explained them away for three years, there were things along the way, but I explained them away like all women do, and that’s part of what I want to tell women is don’t explain away your symptoms because that’s what they are.

The doctor had said that it was stage three, possibly stage four. Then she sent me to a GYN oncologist, and she too said the same thing. And then it was confirmed with the PET scan.

I was deaf. It’s not something you want to hear. And my first thought was about my children and my grandchildren and leaving them behind. My grandbabies are so young. My mother passed away when I was 11, and I have minimal memories of her.

I wanted to fight for my kids and grandkids, so we could have more time together and create more memories. It’s all been so overwhelming.

How I found my care team

Each one of my children is in a different place throughout the United States, and each one of them said, “You need to come here.” I’m in a very small town, and they were worried about the medical care that I would receive. And it’s actually the complete opposite. Here, I have received incredible treatment. I’m treated like a person and not a patient, a case, or a chart. They remember my story when I walk in. They remember my children’s names. They’ve just been so incredible, and I am forever grateful.

My treatment plan

There wasn’t a lot of choice. I have one way of treating this. My GYN oncologist took my case to a board of 12 specialty oncologists, and they collectively created the most aggressive chemotherapy plan.

It is very daunting because it is such a harsh plan. But even after the first treatment, I had a CT scan, and in one area, they saw a 60% shrinkage. And in another area, they saw a 54 % shrinkage after just one treatment.

I have chemotherapy every three weeks. I go in the day before to have my blood work done to see that I am healthy enough to have the chemotherapy treatment. My chemotherapy treatment is anywhere from eight to 10 hours. It goes through my chemo port. And the next day I go in for more hydration and or anti-nausea medication. And then I get this injection into my belly, and it goes into my bone marrow to increase the white blood cells to help my body fight the cancer. But a side effect of it is that it makes your bone marrow swell inside your bones. And because your bones can’t accommodate that swelling, it’s incredibly painful. It feels like every single bone in my body is breaking. And then I’m down for about four or five days. My body shakes uncontrollably.

Thankfully, knock on wood, I have not thrown up from the chemotherapy, not to dismiss that I do feel very nauseous. And for those four or five days, my only nourishment is protein drinks or meal replacement drinks. I can’t eat too much, and every doctor visit that I go into, it’s not a matter of if I’ve lost weight, it’s a matter of how much weight I’ve lost. And it’s typically about two pounds every time I go in. And I had 11 doctor’s appointments this week in four days. So that’s a lot of weight that I’ve lost. I was a sugar fiend. I can’t say no to dessert. I’ve probably lost close to 20-25 pounds so far.

They initially set the plan for 35 rounds of chemotherapy. We’re going to do another PET scan after the sixth treatment and see if my body has responded well enough. I do have a chemotherapy appointment next Tuesday, and we’re going to do a CT scan a couple of days later just to check the progress.

Hopefully, my cervix shrinks enough. The cancer on my cervix is so great that my cervix and the cancer are almost coming out of me. You can feel it, you can see it if you were to look in there. It’s not something you have to search for. It’s that advanced. And it causes problems, like if my bladder gets full, it presses on my cervix, which causes pain. If we do have enough shrinkage, then hopefully we can do a complete hysterectomy.

My side effects from chemo

I’m battling some blood clot issues right now. So I have to give myself injections into my belly twice a day. And then they also put me on Coumadin. There’s a measure of safety, it’s from one to four, and they want you between two and three. When we first started, I was at 1.0. I was checked today, and I’m at 1.1, so it’s not coming up like it should.

I also had an echocardiogram today. I do have some fluid around my heart caused by the chemotherapy drugs. Thankfully, it’s only one centimeter of fluid. So, there is no need to inject a needle into me to drain that fluid at this point. But that is one of the side effects of chemotherapy.

Two days after chemo, I’m in the ER with some kind of problem from it. The weight loss, and being so lethargic. I’m so weak from the shot that I can’t walk without support. have to hold on to something as I walk, which is a greater fear now that I’m on so many blood-thinning medications. It just steals everything from you. It stole my hair, but I did decide to cut it when it started to fall out. That was the only thing I had control over. I cut my long, beautiful blonde hair after my second treatment. And about five days after that, I ran my fingers through my hair, and it was so much hair. So. I went to a hair salon, and these ladies were so encouraging. They stood right beside me, one held my hand, and she was just giving me so much empowerment. She was telling me that I’m Guy Jane. Just so much power that they gave me.

They never charged me for one haircut. When they shaved my head, they did leave a little buzz, and then that started getting really patchy, and I didn’t want to look like a guy with the ring around my head. And the hairstylist came to my home and shaved that hair off. She didn’t have to do that. That was completely unexpected, and it was a personal moment. Your hair is not only a part of your feminine identity. It’s part of your individualism. And my hair has always been part of my security blanket. And oftentimes I’ll go to twirl my hair or flip it out of my way, and it’s not there.

But I will say there are some benefits. My shower now takes three minutes unless I turn around like a rotisserie chicken in there. I don’t have to blow-dry it. I don’t have to worry about gray hair. I can roll the windows down in my vehicle. There’s a lot of positive. There’s positive in everything. You just have to look.

Cancer steals everything from me, but I’m not allowing it to steal my dignity or my battle. This is my battle, and I will win it.

How I cope living alone

I’m completely watching over myself. But my dog, as crazy as it sounds, has indicated things to me.

One evening, he just sat bolt right up out of bed, unexpectedly, came over and sat on my belly. And I checked my heart rate, and it had jumped from the 80s up to 136. And I had to go to the ER to have that checked, and that’s the fluid around my heart now.

But it helps when caring for myself, thankfully, that my RV is not too large. It’s been a challenge. It’s scary at times, and there are days when I don’t have the physical ability to get up out of bed due to the chemotherapy. And I wish that I had somebody here to encourage me and help me.

My support system

I’m currently in Cody, Wyoming.I am leaving this area in a week after I recover from my next chemotherapy appointment, and I will be closer to my family. It’s kind of like my triangle of love. Each one of them will be about three hours from me, so they can help me, and I’ll be surrounded by a lot of my friends as well.

The camp that I’m at has been completely amazing, and I couldn’t have done this last round of chemotherapy without them. They set up a meal delivery system. So every night, somebody brings me a home-cooked meal. With the gluten, I can’t have vitamin K, so no green leafy vegetables, anything green. And they’ve been very mindful of that. They come and walk my dog for me. They bring me bags of ice with their neuropathy in my hands and feet, the nerves in my hands and feet that were once silent after chemo, they’re blazing, and they go numb, and they tingle, and they hurt, and they throb, and it’s the oddest sensation because you don’t know which foot is in front of the other. So I have to be very careful and I have to watch my feet to make sure I am picking them up and moving them.

I look at life differently now

When you have devastating medical diseases, it makes you question your mortality.

Something happened the other night. I still don’t know if I believe it myself. I was standing at the sink, and I was giving myself an injection. And as I pulled the needle out, I just broke down. I was crying. I was shaking. I didn’t know if I would be able to do this anymore. My stomach is just covered in bruises from these twice-a-day injections. And I prayed. And I asked God for strength and courage. And in that moment, I felt this warm embrace from behind me, an instant calm. And this peace just washed over me. The tears that were escaping immediately went away. It was the most incredible thing, and I’m not sure if I fully have the vocabulary to describe it. Or if it was my mind saying, “You’re going to be okay, or if it was a higher being saying you’re going to be okay. But since that time, I can give myself the injections with courage and strength.

Before, it would be a good minute to stick the needle into my stomach. And now I can just pop it right in and do the medication.

It was the most incredible feeling. There was peace and love and warmth and strength and courage in an instant. It was… I can’t fully describe it. There are no words to fully describe it. I felt the arms wrap around me from behind. And it was so warm and comforting. It was magical, wonderful. I can say is it was magical.

What I want others to know

Don’t explain away your symptoms or your pains. It could not be your period. It could not be cramps. Think of all these symptoms. Get a pap smear. I didn’t do it. I was so busy with my life. I owned 12 companies. I had four children. I can get it later. If I had had a pap smear regularly, as recommended, this could have been detected at an earlier stage, one, two, or three. And now I’m battling for my life. I want people to know that you don’t have to hide your disease to make other people more comfortable. I chose not to wear a headscarf. I chose not to wear a wig. And I noticed that I’m big on eye contact, and when people walk by, I’ll look at them, and they’ll divert their eyes. They’re not used to seeing this, and part of my journey is showing the real side of battling cancer. It’s not glamorous. It’s tough. It’s a fight, and we as patients or cancer victims, I guess, the word would be. We try to shelter our family from that pain, from that misery, and we don’t explain our fears. I don’t sleep at night because I’m afraid of dying during my sleep. These are some of the things that I want to share with the public: Cancer is real. Don’t hide it. Tell people how you’re feeling.

My chemotherapy plan is very aggressive, and the medications that I’m on are not covered by my insurance. Each is almost $45,000 just for the drugs alone. I’ve tried to get funding and financial assistance, but I have government healthcare from the military. I can’t get that financial assistance. Even though they don’t pay the bills for it, I’m still responsible for $45,000 in medication every three weeks. So be your own best advocate. Search out everything that you can. Look for programs that can help you. Look for financial assistance. Call the companies that produce the drugs. They might have assistance through them, but even though you think your insurance is great, it doesn’t cover many things, which is unfortunate.

Thank you for sharing your story, AJ!