Cancer survivor Patti Murillo-Casa wants every woman to know they don’t have to go through the nightmarish battle she did.

A 48-year-old Riverdale resident, Murillo-Casa has been cancer-free for almost a year and a half, but she says she nearly didn’t make it through the brutal, exhausting treatments that saved her from cervical cancer, a form of the disease that is now almost entirely avoidable and treatable.

“This is a disease that is completely preventable,” Murillo-Casa says, “and yet 11 people die from it every day.”

Cervical cancer is almost always caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which is like the common cold of sexually transmitted diseases, Murillo-Casa says. HPV comes in dozens of forms and can cause genital warts in women and men. But it’s much more dangerous for women because it can turn into cervical cancer.

In 2009, the government approved the use and effectiveness of an HPV vaccine for females, ages 9 to 26, which guards against most forms of the disease. Males can also use it and the vaccine is now covered by most insurance plans.

About 11,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with cervical cancer each year. Around 4,000 women die from it annually. But if caught early, cervical cancer is very treatable.
The problem is that HPV (and then cervical cancer) is not always symptomatic for women who are infected with it. And if not treated early, cervical cancer is hard to beat.

That’s why Murillo-Casa considers herself lucky. While preparing to retire after 20 years with the police department, she noticed some spotting, or blood, between menstrual cycles. She credited it to stress. But when the spotting continued and the pain increased, she finally went to see a doctor — for the first time in more than four years. During those years between visits she says she felt healthy. “You tend to forget to go to the doctor; you feel you don’t need to.”

By the time you get symptoms, she says, “it’s a little on the late side.”

The cancerous tumor doctors discovered proved too big for one course of action: a hysterectomy, or the removal of her uterus. Doctors at New York Presbyterian decided to treat her with eight weeks of intense daily radiation and weekly chemotherapy.

That was followed by internal radiation where an implant with radiation rods was inserted into her cervix. For three days, she lay in the hospital almost completely motionless with no visitors, except for her husband, Freddie Casa, who could stop by once a day for 20 minutes. She did this twice.

At points during her treatment, “I wanted to give up,” Murillo-Casa says. “That’s why support is very important. This is why we spread the word. We are here to support people who are battling this disease.”

“We,” is Tamika and Friends, the cervical cancer support and advocacy group Murillo-Casa joined months after she found she was cancer free in May 2009. On the internet, her husband found a notice about an event Tamika and Friends were holding called the “Walk to Beat the Clock.” The walk is a fund-raiser started three years ago to aid those suffering from cervical cancer.

“I went there feeling low about the tough journey I just got through and it really inspired me,” she says.

At the walk she met the group’s founder, Tamika Felder. A short time later, Felder asked her to head the Bronx chapter of Tamika and Friends and she’s been heavily involved ever since, speaking at health fairs and schools, “telling my story,” she says.

“I want women to be aware, no woman should die from this disease,” Murillo-Casa says. “Please go see the gynecologist, don’t be a statistic.” 

Ed. Note: The “Walk to Beat the Clock” is a 5K walk and fund-raiser taking place on Saturday, Sept. 25, from 8 a.m. to noon and starts at Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and East 86th Street in Manhattan. It’s $30 for adults, $10 for teens and free for kids under 12. For more information, visit www.walktobeattheclock.org.