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MACOMB TOWNSHIP — While the holiday season for many is a time of reflection and celebration, one area mother has a lot to celebrate.
Katie May, of Macomb Township, celebrates her “double miracles” every December — four years of being cancer free, and two years of being a mother.
In 2018, May had a “squishy” feeling around her hips. After an initial checkup, this was thought to be a non-urgent fibroid in her birth canal, but a surgery to remove it revealed a polyp of complex hyperplasia atypia: an overgrowth of abnormal cells that can lead to endometrial or uterine cancer without treatment.
May, who was in her late 20s when diagnosed, stands out as being particularly young to have endometrial cancer.
“This is a rare case to happen, endometrial cancer in a woman her age,” said Dr. Zaid Al-Wahab, a doctor of gynecologic oncology at Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital (formerly Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak). “She was 28 years old when she was diagnosed, and usually this is a disease for women above 50 or 60 years old, often after menopause. So to have it at a younger age, especially 20s, is rare.”
May began taking hormone replacement therapy to thin the lining of her uterus, but eventually, the complex hyperplasia atypia became stage one endometrial cancer. The typical treatment for that type of cancer is a hysterectomy, which is the surgical removal of the womb.
But May still wanted to have a child.
“I was beyond shocked; I was devastated,” May said. “I wasn’t sure what to do, but I turned to God, I kept my faith high and I knew that I was called for something. … I knew that I was meant to be a mother, so I kept praying … and knew that if I was meant to have a miracle baby, I would.”
May and Al-Wahab decided on an alternative treatment path by increasing the dosage of her hormone replacement therapy and surgical removal of the tumor. In December 2018, Al-Wahab performed his last surgery on May. He declared her cancer-free a day later.
Despite being past cancer, her ability to have a viable pregnancy was still unclear in January 2019.
“The doctors said, ‘You know, I really don’t think you’ll still be able to get pregnant,’” May said. “They said (I) should probably try and see about getting other methods, maybe see about going to a fertility specialist, and I didn’t want to do that. … If I were meant to have a baby, I would, so I just kept praying.”
Then, in July 2020, May gave birth to her now 2-year-old son, Nico, with the assistance of a C-section.
“It’s the best feeling,” May said. “I thank God for my family, my health, this miracle — happy, healthy, full-of-life — baby. I really could not ask for more.”
For all the treatment and care, Al-Wahab is proud of how May’s case turned out.
“(It is) very rare to be successful in this situation,” he said.
According to Al-Wahab, there is no screening test for endometrial cancer, unlike cervical cancer.
“This type of cancer presents (itself) with bleeding after menopause … or an irregular period or abnormal bleeding before menopause,” Al-Wahab said.
People showing signs of endometrial, uterine or cervical cancers are encouraged to speak with their doctor in order to begin diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible.
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