By Andrea Hargraves 
“I found out everything very quickly. In October 2022, I was confirmed positive for HPV. Initially, a cervical conization was performed [é uma pequena, simples e rápida cirurgia para a retirada de lesões em forma de cone]It is an initial measure that we thought would be sufficient if tests indicated infection at an early stage. But we found a cancerous tumor larger than four centimeters in November.
There were two options: another conization procedure or removal of the entire cervix in order to preserve fertility, if I dreamed of becoming a mother; Or perform a complete hysterectomy [remoção total do órgão].
In my case, where the biopsy indicated a four-centimeter tumor, I could only remove the cervix. However, in this option, if there are no free margins, the second step would be to remove the entire uterus. I will keep the disease in my body longer. You decide to go straight to complete removal of the uterus.
8 years ago, I lost my mother, she died of bowel cancer. So, this diagnosis really affected me and made me feel an urgent need to get everything resolved as quickly as possible.
Until then, I thought I would follow the “normal way”: find a husband, get married and have children. There weren’t many questions about it. Since I was in a stable relationship, this was also the expectation of my family, who felt comfortable and had the right to ask me about the children.
I gave myself until I was 38 to decide if I really wanted to have a baby. My partner was clear to him that he didn’t want to at that moment. For him, it wouldn’t make any difference, but women of childbearing age would. I felt like a time bomb about to explode, and the social pressure was stifling.