Becky Black hoped abdominal surgery would finally put an end to the agonizing menstrual bleeding she had suffered since she was a teenager.
But what was supposed to be a routine operation to remove benign growths from her uterus led to a cancer diagnosis that turned her life upside down.
Ms Black said: “I had known something was wrong for years but I kept putting it off.” The cancer diagnosis just confirmed all this.’
Becky shares her story with DailyMail.com after being inspired by Princess Kate Middleton’s similar battle with cancer.
Like Black, who was 39 when she was diagnosed, Princess Kate, 42, was told she had cancer after undergoing unrelated abdominal surgery in January.
Until the last decade, both women would not have been your typical cancer patient, but their journeys are becoming a family story.
Jessie Sanders, who was diagnosed with cancer at age 21, struggled with abdominal pain for years before receiving the ovarian cancer diagnosis.
Becky Black, 44, from Texas, was told she had cancer after surgery to remove fibroids.
Cancers have now increased among those under 50, who are considered early-onset patients, in a phenomenon that has baffled scientists.
Black had been battling an irregular period since she was 14 years old.
The cycles became even more erratic and she began bleeding between periods, at which point she decided to seek help.
Scans revealed she had more than half a dozen fibroids (small growths on the wall of the uterus that are usually benign) and she was referred for surgery to have them removed.
Fibroids can cause irregular menstrual bleeding because they distort the shape of the uterus, disrupting normal shedding.
But because they occur in up to 77 percent of women (and fewer than one in 1,000 cases are cancerous), cancer was thought to be unlikely.
However, during the operation, doctors found “problematic” cells which were sent for testing and later diagnosed as stage one uterine cancer.
She was then scheduled for a hysterectomy (or removal of the uterus) to remove the cancer before it spread to other areas of the body.
Doctors say it is common to undergo a hysterectomy once this cancer is detected to remove it before it spreads.
This was successful and the doctors said he did not need chemotherapy because there were no signs that the cancer had spread.
Kate Middleton posted a video online where she revealed her cancer diagnosis and that she was receiving preventative chemotherapy.
Ms Black said: “I wouldn’t say it was a shock so much as a feeling of unwanted confirmation, if that makes sense.”
‘My advice is to loved ones of people with cancer: even if you mean well, let your loved one with cancer have the space (emotionally and physically) they may need during this time.
“And for the rest of us, let Kate process her thing and without our interference, curiosity or concern, no matter how well-intentioned we are.”
Uterine cancer is the most common cancer of the female reproductive system and is increasing among women, especially those under 50 years of age.
Data suggests cases are increasing about two percent a year among those under 50 and one percent a year among those over this age, according to Cancer.Net.
It is also the only cancer whose survival rates have decreased over the past four decades.
Researchers have previously blamed rising obesity rates, arguing that rising estrogen levels can fuel the disease. But they also point out that fewer women are having their uterus removed to treat abnormal bleeding or non-cancerous fibroids, which can increase the risk of the disease.
Princess Kate revealed her cancer diagnosis following her own abdominal surgery.
He is now receiving “preventive” chemotherapy to kill any cancer cells that may linger in his body.
In her statement last Friday, Kate said: ‘We hope you understand that as a family we now need some time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment.
“My job has always brought me a deep sense of joy and I hope to return when I can, but for now I must focus on making a full recovery.”
Other younger cancer patients have also come forward to share their diagnoses, inspired by Kate’s openness.
Sara Stewart, from Pennsylvania, was among those who revealed that she was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer when she was 45 years old.
The freelance writer said she had also undergone abdominal surgeries and chemotherapy, just like Kate.
In an opinion piece for cnnshe said: ‘Recovering from major abdominal surgery, as Kate has been doing since January, is terrifying.
‘And having to do it in order to be healthy enough to receive chemotherapy is a humiliating double whammy from the universe.
“For Kate, that comes complete with having to endure it all while the entire world chases you like a fox on one of those hunts that royalty always go on.”
Another patient who was diagnosed with cancer after abdominal surgery was Jessie Sanders, who was diagnosed at the age of 21.
The San Diego State University student underwent surgery to have a six-inch cyst removed from her ovary in 2021.
But when she came to, doctors told her she had small cell carcinoma of the ovary, hypercalcemic type, a rare and aggressive form of ovarian cancer.
She was then sent for six rounds of chemotherapy and also a donor bone marrow transplant before being declared in remission in June 2022.
Mrs. Sanders said PEOPLE: ‘It was very difficult because I am 20 years old.
“And I’m on social media trying to pass the time and I see my friends traveling or practicing and doing normal things that I should be doing.”
Another patient was Devlynn Cyr, 39, from Alberta, Canada, who was urgently admitted for surgery to repair a ruptured colon in September 2023.
But when he woke up from the operation he was told he had stage three colon cancer, suggesting the disease was spreading within his body.
During the first operation, doctors also removed her uterus, with her husband Greg’s permission, because a tumor was “fused” to the organ and the entire area was “like cement.”
Ms Cyr, a paramedic, then underwent six rounds of chemotherapy to treat her condition.
She said PEOPLE: ‘My husband gets a phone call halfway through surgery saying, “Here’s the problem. We found a tumor and it’s cemented to my uterus.”
“I couldn’t process the hysterectomy because I thought, ‘Now I don’t have the option to have children?’
‘Did I recover some eggs so I could have children in the future? Do you even think about these things?