Woman who was told ‘untreatable’ cancer would kill her within a year is thriving two years later

A Massachusetts woman who was told her cervical cancer was untreatable and that it would kill her within a year is still thriving two years later.  

In 2012, when Lauren Lopez was 24, she visited her gynecologist for an annual check-up when abnormal cells were found during her Pap test.

The cells were cancerous but after two cone knife biopsies, which removes tissue from the cervix, she was told she was cancer-free, reported TODAY. 

In 2017, at age 30, Lopez was told that her cancer had returned. She was told it was incurable and that she had six months to a year to live.

Two years later, the 32-year-old yoga teacher from Westford said she chooses to remain positive and that she finds something to be grateful for every day.

Lauren Lopez, 32, from Westford, Massachusetts, was first diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2012 after abnormal cancerous cells were found in her cervix. Pictured: Lopez in the hospital

After two cone knife biopsies, which removes tissue from the cervix, Lopez was told she was cancer-free. Pictured: Lopez with her husband

She said she didn't know much about HPV, the infection that caused her cancer. Pictured, left and right: Lopez with her husband

After two cone knife biopsies, which removes tissue from the cervix, Lopez was told she was cancer-free. She said she didn’t know much about HPV, the infection that caused her cancer. Pictured, left and right: Lopez with her husband

Lopez told TODAY she knew about most sexually transmitted infections (STIs) but not HPV, which led to her cancer. 

HPV, short for Human papillomavirus, is the most common STI in the US, affecting around 79 million people.

It has been linked to numerous cancers – including prostate, throat, head and neck, rectum and cervical cancer. 

Since the HPV vaccine was introduced in 2006, 79 countries and territories have implemented publicly funded national HPV vaccination programs. 

In the US, the vaccine is offered in two or three doses over the course of six months to girls who are between ages 11 and 12, with a catch-up series recommended no later than age 26. 

‘Nobody talked about HPV,’ Lopez told TODAY. ‘I did not have any of the vaccines. The vaccines weren’t really being talked about.’

It’s why she was shocked when her gynecologist found abnormal cancerous cells in her cervix, the lowermost part of the uterus, but relieved when she was told it wasn’t serious.   

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 13,000 US women will develop cervical cancer in 2019, which will lead to more than 4,200 deaths. 

‘They told me: “You don’t need to worry. The prognosis is amazing and we caught it early,”‘ Lopez said.

In 2015, doctors discovered another cancerous tumor and Lopez decided to undergo a hysterectomy.

A cancerous mass was found in 2015 and Lopez (pictured) underwent a hysterectomy, an operation to remove the uterus

A cancerous mass was found in 2015 and Lopez (pictured) underwent a hysterectomy, an operation to remove the uterus

In 2017, Lopez (pictured) was told the cancer had returned and that it was incurable

Lopez (pictured) said that her goal is to be grateful for one thing every day

In 2017, Lopez (left and right) was told the cancer had returned and that it was incurable. She said that her goal is to be grateful for one thing every day

This a surgical procedure that remove the uterus, but may include the cervix, ovaries and fallopian tubes.  

‘Even with my hysterectomy, it was still kind of presented that you are going to be all set,’ Lopez told TODAY.

Then, in 2017, doctors told her that the cancer had returned – and it was untreatable.  

In spite of her terminal diagnosis, Lopez says that she’s made a goal to find something to be grateful for every day. 

‘It tricks my brain into celebrating the small moments,’ Lopez said. ‘It started with something that is simple and it spiraled and blossomed.’

She said she wants to inspire other cancer survivors and suffers and that there is life after being being diagnosed with an incurable disease. 

‘Even when they give you a terminal diagnosis…it is okay to make plans and dream,’ she said. ‘You can be happy during cancer.’ 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk