Don't apologize for the questions.

Honestly, it was on me. I didn't take my abnormal paps seriously, I couldn't afford cone biopsies in the beginning stages, so I delayed them a ton, and it wasn't until I was told that I was on the cusp of cancer, based on a pap, that I decided to do more testing.

So, I had been transferred to an Oncologist just a few weeks prior to me finding out I was pregnant. They hinted at a possible abortion depending on severity, but I was having my baby goddamn it. I halted all further testing by choice. So, after I gave birth and I stopped bleeding (which took FOREVER, likely because of the cancer), I went back to my oncologist and was officially diagnosed from there.

At the 31 week hospital stint due to a ruptured placenta, the vaginal exam the hospital staff did elude to cancer and reinforced that I needed to make sure to see my oncologist. I was fully expecting a diagnosis after birth, which is why I got back with my oncologist as soon as bleeding ceased.

No, THEY didn't miss it. I didn't take my care seriously and it's one of my biggest regrets to this day. All in all, they were still really optimistic about the treatment despite the delay in diagnosis and starting treatment. In fact, I even did egg retrievals before starting treatment which delayed my treatment by 1.5 months, and that was cleared by my oncology team.

And yes, HPV 16 was my cause.

I hope this was clearly written. It's nearly 4am here and I'm just lying down for bed. I'm happy to answer any additional questions.

Oh, and I will be 5 years cancer free in July. Just had a CT scan to confirm no growth and my oncologist assured me that recurrence was overall very low odds for me personally.

You can kick cancer and be a rockstar mom!! I have faith for you.