Julia Devillers never imagined that a common sexually transmitted disease she had at the university would be the cause of her rare cancer decades later.
Devillers, an author, began to experience random blood flow and see red in her underwear. She blamed the bleeding of early signs of menopause – as a woman in fifty, she thought it was time.
One day she was sitting at the pool and saw the blood soaked under her.
She said: “I was bleeding on it and I thought:” Wow, this brings me back to my pre-teenage years that I am traumatized when you get your fist period. “I thought,” This is a very dramatic period. “
Early symptoms of perimenopause, the period prior to the menopause, include irregular bleeding from different flows and lengths – but what Devillers did not realize was that bleeding came from her anus, not her vagina.
She said: ‘I didn’t know the bleeding came out of my Tush. I thought I got my period again. ‘
When she realized, however, she knew that bleeding from the anus could be a sign of cancer.
Doctors suspected a hemorrhoid like the perpetrator and performed surgery to remove it. But instead of finding swollen veins, doctors found two tumors. She had stage three anal cancer – a rare cancer linked to the Sti Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
Julia Devillers regularly started to experience mysterious blood flow, along with paralyzing fatigue
“It wasn’t non-stop. Suddenly I would have a blood flow. I really begged them to put myself on a waiting list [for hemorrhoid removal surgery]”she told TODAY.
Her operation in May 2022 is expected to be a standard, simple procedure that would put an end to her suffering.
“When I came out, I was really groggy of anesthesia, but I remember that my husband was holding one hand and my doctor was holding the other hand,” Devillers said.
The anal cancer cells were migrated to its lymph nodes, making the stage 3.
Between 40 and 70 percent of patients die within five years of the diagnosis of this cancer phase.
Anal cancer, which develops in the anal channel, is rare, with 10,540 new cases in 2024 and 2,190 deaths.
It differs from colon or rectum cancer and is usually caused by an HPV infection.
In an article Devillers written For Newsweek she said: ‘I had been married for a million years! But I also remembered at the university, my gynecologist said: “You have human papillomavirus (HPV), don’t worry, it is common, harmless and will probably disappear by itself.”
Estimations suggest that 80 percent of sexually active people will increase at least one HPV infection by 45. It is spread through skin-to-skin contact by vaginal, anal or oral sex. It often shows no symptoms.
According to the CDC, more than 42 million Americans are currently infected with the STD and an estimated 13 million people are infected annually.
It is possible to ward off HPV and possibly related cancers with a vaccine for the virus that is 97 percent effective.
Doctors have prescribed Devillers with aggressive IV chemotherapy, as well as radiation treatments and oral chemotherapy.
Just before three weeks after her treatment and her second IV -Chemo infusion, she did well. She visited friends, worked and could walk into her doctor’s office without help. But after her second infusion she seemed to crash and burn, “she said
Just before three weeks after her treatment and her second chemo infusion, she did well, bUt after her second infusion “she seemed to crash and burn,” she said today.
Her colon was twisted and caused unbearable pain. She vomited Neon Groene Gal and then collapsed at the Emergency Department. She finally spent five weeks in intensive care.
Doctors noted that her blood cells had plummeted and called her children because they were not sure how much time devillers had. They have also engaged Hospice care.
“That was terrible for my family,” she said, and added that she could feel her body closing.
“I saw this dark tunnel and it had two pricks white light,” Devillers said. This took a day or two and I felt darkness. I was very depressed. “
But she started to feel better after a blood transfusion.
Devillers had lost about 30 pounds and became weak and brittle, but her cancer had not shrunk enough to get her closer to remission, and she still had to undergo radiation treatment.
When her treatment finished in August 2022, doctors approached her with ‘Careful good news’. There were no signs of cancer, although they were still worried about a lymph node that had caused a lump in her belly
“Even as sick as I was, they rode me in radiation,” she said.
‘My radiologist, I will be grateful for him forever. He said, “If we stop now, it can come back. But if we keep shining … that’s what comes off the tumor.”
When her treatment finished in August 2022, doctors approached her with ‘Careful good news’. There were no signs of cancer, although they were still worried about a lymph node that had caused a lump in her belly.
Six months later, however, she was cancer -free. It is three years since her diagnosis and all her tests remain normal.
Devillers initially ashamed of her cancer. When people asked her about it, she said, “Yes, I have Tush Cancer.” ‘
“Everything, so I didn’t have to say anal and then I heard that anal cancer is a different animal than rectal or colon cancer.”
Now she has joined the board of the HPV Cancer Alliance to remove the stigma and to increase the awareness of HPV-related cancers.
She said: ‘Women get it. Men get it. It is all directly related to getting HPV. ‘
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