In June, Danielle Campfield-Carter will celebrate two years cancer free, but her journey to remission has been anything but easy.
At just 32 years of age, Campfield-Carter underwent a hysterectomy, and remains cancer-free nearly two years later.
Five years earlier, she was diagnosed with PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormonal condition associated with irregular menstrual cycles.
In 2022, she received even more shocking news.
“I essentially started a cycle that just never ended. Throughout the entire year [I was] spotting, more lethargic, just feeling like something wasn’t right,” Campfield-Carter told NBC Chicago.
She was concerned, but said she never considered that cancer was a possibility. Then, doctors discovered a mass in her uterus.
“I got the call a week after my 32nd birthday that it was uterine cancer.”
Further testing showed it had already spread to the muscle. At just 32 years old, she needed a hysterectomy.
“At the time I got the call, it was on speaker phone, and my best friend was close to me, and she immediately started sobbing. It just didn’t feel real.”
Uterine is the most common type of cancer affecting the female reproductive system, but Campfield-Carter’s age is unique.
“The majority of people diagnosed with this cancer type actually happen after the age of menopause,” Lurie Cancer Center gynecologic oncologist Dr. Emily Hinchcliff said.
“But some of Danielle’s symptoms are the same as we really warn all of our patients to be aware of, abnormal bleeding, especially after menopause, even a spot or two can be abnormal,” Hinchcliff said.
Hinchcliff said age, weight and irregular periods associated with PCOS can all be risk factors.
Newly married, Campfield-Carter was devastated to learn of her need for a hysterectomy. Prior to her surgery, she underwent fertility preservation to freeze her eggs.
“I work a lot with children. I’m a director with the Boys and Girls Club of Chicago. So, I’m surrounded by children, I love children. To know I wouldn’t be able to carry or have my own in that way brought a lot of grief.”
Campfield-Carter said she has overcome some of her grief by exploring other options to start a family.
“We’re also open to adoption and fostering. I feel like in my line of work I’m using my mothering gene daily,” she said. “It did restore hope that families can be built in a variety of ways.”
Campfield-Carter found hope through community and is now sharing her story to remind others life does go on, even if it looks different than planned.
In remission, she started a business to inspire and bring hope to other cancer patients and survivors.
On Sunday, she’ll be honored as one of the “Faces of Cancer” at the 32nd Annual Cancer Survivors’ Celebration Walk & 5K.
“I’ve been celebrating all along my cancer journey. Now, to be right at the two year mark, with no traces of cancer, thankfully, this feels huge. To be surrounded by people who can share in that enthusiasm and celebration, it’s an honor,” Campfield-Carter said.
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