A mother of three who was given just three months to live tells how she proved doctors wrong and beat cancer.
Aisha McClellan of Snow Camp, North Carolina, thought her life was over when she was diagnosed with stage 2B cervical cancer.
Initially, she was told by medical professionals that the cancer was treatable and she had to undergo several treatments. However, months later she learned that the cancer had returned and spread. She feared for her life.
After working hard and undergoing 25 doses of external beam radiation, the mother was shocked to discover that the cancer had returned – this time more aggressive than ever.
However, the now 40-year-old refused to give up hope and fought for other doctors to give her more options, one of whom even increased her chances of survival.
Aisha McClellan, of Snow Camp, North Carolina, thought her life was over when she was diagnosed with stage 2B cervical cancer
Aisha said: ‘When I was diagnosed with cervical cancer, I was initially told it was very treatable.
‘Three months later I completed the treatment and was told I had responded well. The next step was to come back in November for a follow-up appointment.’
She worked incredibly hard to get rid of her first round of cervical cancer, after undergoing six rounds of chemotherapy, 25 doses of external beam radiation and five doses of internal beam radiation.
Her body responded well to the three months of treatment, but when she returned, the mother could not understand how her body could come back, when she had previously celebrated what she thought was the end of her cancer.
During her treatment for cervical cancer, she was scanned by medical staff only from the waist down as the cancer spread to her upper body, leaving her feeling ‘defeated’.
She added: ‘When I came back from my follow-up, I found out the cancer had spread to my lungs and liver. They didn’t know that because they only scanned me from my waist down.’
The mother was told she had only three months to live. She was furious and wondered how doctors could let her condition get worse. She also wondered how she would tell her children this news.
She explains: ‘I was angry at first because I didn’t understand how this could have happened when I was in their care all this time.
The single mother shared a small family with only her mother as her sole dependency as she struggled to provide for her children – Lia, 19, Tyler, 18, and Arianna, 17
The North Carolina mother was initially told by medical professionals that the cancer was treatable and was forced to undergo multiple treatments
After working hard and undergoing 25 doses of external beam radiation, the mother was shocked to discover that the cancer had returned – this time more aggressive than ever
‘My anger quickly turned to a level of sadness I had never experienced before. I was devastated. I don’t have much family and I was terrified about who would look after my children if I died.
‘The thought of leaving them behind left me inconsolable.’
Aisha was told she had just three months to live after being told the disease had spread to her lungs and liver.
She was reportedly told that ‘once the cancer has spread, there is nothing more that can be done.’
One of her biggest concerns during her cancer journey was her children. The single mother shared a small family with only her mother to rely on as she fought to provide for her children — Lia, 19, Tyler, 18, and Arianna, 17.
During treatment, Aisha lost her job and was left without income, so she started cleaning houses with her mother to support herself.
Aisha refused to give up hope and fought for a second opinion. She then saw a doctor who admitted that her condition was not favorable, but noted that he could advise on some options.
She received several new treatments and added vitamins and supplements to her diet to help her feel better.
And soon Aisha felt only the effects of the treatment, and no longer of the cancer.
At a follow-up scan, Aisha was overjoyed to learn that she had responded completely to the treatment. She was ‘extremely grateful’ for her second chance at life.
At a follow-up scan, Aisha was overjoyed to hear the news that she had responded completely to the treatment and felt ‘extremely grateful’ for her second chance at life
The mother noted that she kept thinking about her children throughout her fight
Cervical cancer occurs when cells in the cervix grow out of control and form a tumor. The tumor usually grows very slowly.
The mother indicated that she kept thinking about her children during the argument.
She said: ‘Despite only having three months left to live, I fought incredibly hard to beat my cancer so I could be there for my children.
‘My whole purpose in life has always been to want to protect my children and make them happy and give them everything they want and need. I felt like I was letting them down, but it also made me fight even harder.
‘The scariest part was that I just wasn’t there for my kids. I had no one to take care of them when I wasn’t there and that was the thought that got me out of bed every morning and allowed me to keep going.
“I’ve never really been afraid of what cancer would do to my body, or what it would do to me personally. It’s always been about what it would do to my children.”