Less invasive surgery gets a triathlete back on track

当铁人三项玛丽亚莱娅·德耶稣被诊断出患有早期阶段宫颈癌在2014年常规巴氏涂片检查后，她害怕被从她的运动缺阵。

“I run -- a lot. I just can’t sit still,” says Lea, 49. She trains for endurance sports six days a week, year-round. Her accomplishments include completing over 10 marathons and two IRONMAN triathlons – a 2.4-mile swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run.

LEA工作作为超声技师在MD安德森。所以，她的初步诊断后，她问同事推荐的肿瘤学家。她很快就被称为凯瑟琳Schmeler，医学博士

“I trusted Dr. Schmeler the minute I met her,” Lea says. “She just has a positive aura.”

Simple hysterectomy for a quick recovery

LEA有两个活检和MRI上演她的病，并确定最佳的治疗过程。

Her care team decided that Lea would have a simple hysterectomy as part of Schmeler’s ConCerv trial, an innovative study using less radical surgery for cervical cancer. This approach removes the uterus and cervix as well as surrounding lymph nodes. It’s an alternative to the standard radical hysterectomy, which also removes surrounding parametrial tissue and the top part of the vagina.

“I read a lot about it and knew Dr. Schmeler was only going to take out what was necessary,” says Lea, adding that she wasn’t nervous for the surgery.

She recalls the operating room as all smiling faces. “I remember Dr. Schmeler talking to me and then it felt like I was dreaming,” Lea says. “I woke-up in the post-anesthesia care unit feeling relatively strong.”

第二天，执法机关就回家了。

背部to triathlon training

“The less invasive procedure has fewer side effects and helped Lea get back to work and training sooner,” Schmeler says. Lea completed a half-marathon mountain run in Canada and the IRONMAN 70.3 Austin less than six months post-surgery.

但也LEA为她的手术后恢复时间，她称了长达一个月的休息日。“这是第一次，我从训练休息，因为......我甚至不知道，”她说。

During her recovery, Lea woke-up early every morning and walked her dogs. “I was able to think more and feel more,” she says. “It was a totally different experience for me.”

不要跳过你的子宫颈抹片检查

LEA是感谢一直是研究的一部分，子宫颈癌创伤小程序。188bet体育网址她鼓励其他女性疾病早期带她去相同的路径。

But here’s her most important advice to other women: don’t skip your巴氏涂片检查。早期癌症醒目，LEA说，让她有一个简单的程序，更快地恢复，并与她的生活无癌下去。