Cervical Cancer: Not On Maressa’s Wedding Planning List

There’s a saying that “what we have planned for ourselves is not always what life has planned for us.” Registered nurse, mom, and wife, Maressa Aparicio, knows firsthand that when plans change, sometimes, you just have to change your plans to fit the situation.

It was April 2021 when 34-year-old Maressa Aparicio was busy getting ready for her wedding rehearsal dinner. Her gynecologist called to say that her recent pap test had come back abnormal.

She went forward with the wedding plans but postponed the honeymoon.

“The following week I had a colposcopy, a diagnostic procedure that examines the cervix for abnormalities, and then a cold knife procedure which biopsies the cervix tissue to test for cancerous or precancerous cells,” says Maressa. “The results showed stage one cervical cancer and I was sent to women’s cancer specialist Joan Cheng, MD, gynecologic oncologist at Touro.”

Dr. Cheng recommended a radical hysterectomy as the treatment plan. Since the cancer was slow-growing, Maressa and her new wife, Ronelle, went on their Cancun honeymoon and scheduled the surgery for the Monday after their return. But the plan changed when Maressa had gallbladder problems toward the end of the trip. When she returned home, she went to the emergency room where she was told she needed gallbladder surgery. That, followed by the COVID pandemic taking off, postponed the cancer surgery until September.

One of the standard treatments for early-stage cervical cancer is a radical hysterectomy which removes the uterus, cervix and the surrounding tissue to get a “clear margin”. A few lymph nodes are also removed and tested for cancer cells. In Maressa’s case, her lymph nodes and her surgical tissue margins were clear, so radiation and chemotherapy were not warranted. And, since she was in her mid-30’s, her ovaries were left intact to prevent the early onset of menopause.

Cervical cancer surgery recovery time is about six to eight weeks, but Maressa was back at work in five weeks, doing what nurses do, caring for others. She laughs as she credits her stubbornness and fierce independence that expedited her return to work but also, her understanding that sometimes blood clots from inactivity are a risk after surgery. So, she wanted to keep moving. And while she developed lymphedema due to the lymph node biopsy, her outpatient occupational therapy at Touro’s Cancer Rehab program didn’t slow her down.

“Early-stage cervical cancer is very treatable and has a very good long-term outcome like Maressa’s,” says Dr. Cheng. “Unfortunately, we don’t talk about gynecological cancers enough because some women may feel uncomfortable and hesitant with what they consider their ‘private parts’. Cervical cancer signs are not always obvious until they’re advanced. Symptoms can include pelvic pain or bleeding after intercourse or after menopause. So, it’s important for women of all ages to get their regular screenings and for pre and early adolescent girls to get the HPV vaccine for cervical cancer prevention.”

Now, three and a half years later, Maressa is married, cancer free, and while vacationing on a beach in Aruba, she recalls her cancer journey. “Maybe it’s because I’m a nurse and in the medical field,” she says, “but I felt positive through my cancer diagnosis and treatment because Dr. Cheng was just so open, caring, and frank about how we were going to get through it. She’s amazing, as was everyone at Touro.”