Katherine “Katie” Murillo Meza
A daughter, mother, wife, sister, and a great friend
Katherine became a mother at a very young age. On one of her routine checkups, she was found to have an abnormal papsmear. After several tests she was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the very young age of 16. Because it was caught it in time, it was treatable. The operation performed on Katherine was a conization, which in her case stopped cancerous cells from spreading. The first step doctors took after the operation was to have Katherine checked, for any other signs of cancer, every 3 months per year and were later done every 6 months apart. Because of Katie’s young age, she did not understand the seriousness of this disease. Katherine wasn’t very concerned about having cancer. Even though her father died of cancer, she wasn’t aware of the seriousness. So Katherine took her diagnosis lightly, given that she was told cervical cancer was easy to treat, she never realized how severe her condition could have been. She could have died had it not been found early. This vibrant and very special friend of my family has been cancer free for 31 years. Katherine is now 47 years old and full of life. Since her diagnosis she has been having routine check ups and will continue to have them. While cervical cancer used to be a common cause of cancer deaths among women America, it is now much less common. In 2009, the United States approved a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer in young ladies. It is not a mandatory vaccination, but a very highly recommended one. Cervical cancer is a very treatable disease if caught early and a very preventable one if vaccinated against it! Thank you Katie for bringing awareness to all of us about this disease. I love you.
A daughter, mother, wife, sister, and a great friend
Katherine became a mother at a very young age. On one of her routine checkups, she was found to have an abnormal papsmear. After several tests she was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the very young age of 16. Because it was caught it in time, it was treatable. The operation performed on Katherine was a conization, which in her case stopped cancerous cells from spreading. The first step doctors took after the operation was to have Katherine checked, for any other signs of cancer, every 3 months per year and were later done every 6 months apart. Because of Katie’s young age, she did not understand the seriousness of this disease. Katherine wasn’t very concerned about having cancer. Even though her father died of cancer, she wasn’t aware of the seriousness. So Katherine took her diagnosis lightly, given that she was told cervical cancer was easy to treat, she never realized how severe her condition could have been. She could have died had it not been found early. This vibrant and very special friend of my family has been cancer free for 31 years. Katherine is now 47 years old and full of life. Since her diagnosis she has been having routine check ups and will continue to have them. While cervical cancer used to be a common cause of cancer deaths among women America, it is now much less common. In 2009, the United States approved a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer in young ladies. It is not a mandatory vaccination, but a very highly recommended one. Cervical cancer is a very treatable disease if caught early and a very preventable one if vaccinated against it! Thank you Katie for bringing awareness to all of us about this disease. I love you.
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