Editor’s note: This is one in a series of stories exploring the survivorship journeys of Novant Health Cancer Institute patients. You’ll find all the stories here. We celebrate our survivors and share their stories to showcase how surviving – and thriving – after a cancer diagnosis is possible. You’ll find all the stories here.
Lisa Shumate, 54, has been a nurse for more than 30 years. Her husband is a nurse. Her daughter, inspired by Lisa, finished nursing school in December 2023 and is now working as a labor and delivery nurse at Watauga Medical Center.
So, when the words “adenocarcinoma” showed in Lisa’s MyChart lab results late on Friday, Sept. 13, 2019, this family of healthcare providers knew it wasn’t good news.
“I was hysterical,” she said.
The results confirmed something Lisa had suspected for nearly a year: Something was really wrong. Repeated primary care visits had been inconclusive, but bright red bleeding that interrupted a camping trip with her husband was a clear sign of trouble.
She traveled from Wilkesboro to Winston-Salem for an ob-gyn exam, ultrasound and biopsy of what initially appeared to be fibroids. Shortly after, on that fateful Friday, she got the MyChart notification.
“They acted on it really fast,” she said. “By Monday, I had a referral to a gynecologic oncologist. On Oct. 4, I had a total radical hysterectomy. I was 49 at that time.”
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Her surgical pathology revealed she had stage 3 endocervical cancer. “It was in my uterus, cervix and lymph nodes,” Lisa said. “My PET scan came back clear after surgery, but I needed chemo and radiation to prevent it from coming back. Treatment started by mid-November, and by New Year’s Eve 2019 I had completed all my treatments.”
Her treatment may have flown by quickly, but years later she is still grappling with the dramatic effects.
“I was so sick. I was nauseated 24/7. I lost eight pounds that first week,” Lisa said. “I was on steroids to help me eat. IV fluids to stay hydrated. Radiation five days a week for five weeks in Winston-Salem. Blood transfusions toward the end. It was one thing after another.”
Lisa admitted she’s a fiercely independent person, but she found herself so weak and drained she had to rely on her husband to help her shower and wash her hair.
“I don’t remember a lot of it,” she said. “Sometimes I think it’s something I just don’t want to remember. It took all my energy just to get dressed and get to treatment and back. I try to accept help a lot more easily now.”
She is grateful today to be cancer-free.
“I’ve had a few scares since,” Lisa said. “There are no words to describe how it feels that something might be there. You just have to put it in God’s hands.
She is still immunocompromised and has neuropathy, chemo brain fog and is on estrogen therapy. But she knows how lucky she is to be here.
She tells others who are recently diagnosed to “concentrate on just making it through one day at a time.”
“You can listen to people talk about it all day long, but unless you go through it, you don’t understand,” Lisa said. “I try to be supportive and optimistic and positive.”
She admitted that when she was going through treatment it was hard to imagine ever having a “normal” life again or going back to work.
“Well, guess what? I’m back at work,” she said.
“I basically live a normal life now. I may have to rest a little more and do things a little differently sometimes, but you know? There is life after treatment.”
She gives back with her involvement in Relay for Life and looks forward to traveling more and watching her daughter’s burgeoning nursing career.
“I treasure every moment and realize life here is short,” Lisa said. “Whenever you’re faced with something that could take your life, I think you appreciate everything more. I don’t take life for granted. I live each day to the fullest and like each day could be my last.”
