J.J. Jioducci: Uterine Cancer Patient Has Message for Women: “Get Your Woo-Woos Checked"
When J.J. JioDucci experienced unexplained vaginal bleeding, the possibility of cancer never crossed her mind.
“The bleeding happened several times, but I thought it was the start of menopause,” says JioDucci, 52, of Madisonville.
Then one day the bleeding became so extreme JioDucci thought she was hemorrhaging. She was lifting weights at the gym when blood dripped onto the floor. It happened again when she got home.
“I knew something was wrong. I couldn’t focus, I couldn’t think. I was exhausted,” she recalls.
After consulting with her gynecologist, she underwent a biopsy that revealed endometrial (uterine) cancer cells.
“When they told me I had uterine cancer, I was in shock and a bit of denial. I didn’t know how I was going to tell my dad, my family and friends. Then I got really mad because I started thinking I did something wrong,” recalls JioDucci.
Her gynecologist referred her to W. Edward Richards, MD, because, as she told JioDucci, he is “the best of the best.”
Richards, a UC Health University of Cincinnati Physicians gynecologic oncologist and director of women’s cancer for the UC Barrett Cancer Institute at University Hospital, specializes in minimally invasive gynecologic surgical procedures, including robotic surgery.
JioDucci was diagnosed with stage 2B uterine cancer and began treatment—including a hysterectomy followed by radiation and chemotherapy—in the fall of 2008.
“Dr. Richards is no ordinary doctor—he studied me physically and emotionally during the examination. His tone was a welcoming departure from the many clinicians I had encountered,” says JioDucci. “He spent unprecedented time explaining everything. When he felt my Dad was befuddled by some of the medical lingo, he sketched anatomical pictures explaining lymph nodes and how cancer spreads.”
On Nov. 20, 2009, more than 40 friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and spiritual advisers gathered at the UC Barrett Cancer Institute while JioDucci had her last chemotherapy treatment.
“I think Dr. Richards and I were brought together for a reason. So many people talk about breast cancer, but we know very little about uterine cancer and a lot of us put regular checkups off,” says JioDucci. “But I have a message for women: Get your woo woos checked in addition to the ta-tas! You don’t need to die from uterine cancer. And unfortunately, many women don’t realize they have uterine cancer until they are in stage 4.”
According to the American Cancer Society, more than 42,000 women are diagnosed with endometrial cancer annually and the chance of a woman having this cancer during her lifetime is about one in 40.
Richards stresses that any irregular bleeding should be addressed by a physician regardless of the patient’s age. Women who are premenopausal—particularly those with risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension or excessive estrogen usage without the use of progesterone (known as “unopposed estrogen usage”)—should be aware of their risk for uterine cancer.