In my younger years, beginning around the age of 30, I was living fast and careless. I was the party girl, always drinking, never thinking about what it might one day do to my body. But my body kept the score. Eventually, I was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, and my doctor looked me in the eye and told me that if I did not stop drinking, I would die. I knew he meant every word. That day, I stopped. And I have never had another drop since.

For ten years I stayed away from alcohol. I tried to do everything right, to live differently, to protect the life I had been given back. Then in March of 2023, my world was shaken again when I was diagnosed with liver cancer — hepatocellular carcinoma — caused by alcohol. Those words were terrifying, and I will never forget hearing them. I underwent chemoembolization, which made it possible for me to be placed on the transplant list. I also developed esophageal varices, which led to a TIPS procedure so they would not burst.

I waited 11 long months for a transplant. Eleven months of hope, worry, prayer, and patience. Then finally, I got the call for a liver. Thank God. After the transplant, pathology on my old liver revealed more cancer beneath the gallbladder, and it had begun to move into my bile duct. Hepatocellular carcinoma was also found there.

I was placed on capecitabine chemotherapy pills for seven months. Since then, I have had four circulating tumor DNA tests done at three-month intervals, and each one came back not detected. Thank God again.

I believe with all my heart that I am still here because the cancer was found early, and because I refused to accept that it would stay in my body. I believe in the power of the mind. I believe in the power of prayer. I believe that staying positive and determined matters. There were moments that were frightening, but I held on to hope, and I never let go.

I am deeply grateful to be alive, and I do not take a single day for granted. I share my story because I want others facing this disease to know that there is still hope, still strength, and still reason to keep going.