Julia DeVillers never imagined a common sexually transmitted infection she had in college would be the cause of her rare cancer decades later. 

DeVillers, an author, began experiencing random gushes of blood, seeing red in her underwear. She blamed the bleeding on early signs of menopause – as a woman in her fifties, she figured it was time. 

One day, she sat poolside and saw blood had soaked the towel beneath her.

She said: ‘I bled on it, and I thought, “Wow, this brings me back to my pre-teen years of being traumatized when you get your fist period.” I thought, “This is a very dramatic period.”’

Early symptoms of perimenopause, the period preceding menopause, include irregular bleeding of various flows and lengths – but what DeVillers didn’t realize was that the bleeding was coming from her anus, not her vagina. 

She said: ‘I didn’t know the bleeding was coming from my tush. I thought I was getting my period again.’

When she realized, however, she knew bleeding from the anus could be a sign of cancer. 

Doctors suspected a hemorrhoid to be the culprit, and performed surgery to remove it. But instead of finding swollen veins, doctors found two tumors. She had stage three anal cancer – a rare cancer linked to the STI human papillomavirus (HPV).

Julia DeVillers began experiencing mysterious gushes of blood regularly, along with crippling fatigue

‘It wasn’t non-stop. All of a sudden, I would have a gush of blood. I really begged them to put me on a waiting list [for hemorrhoid removal surgery],’ she told TODAY.

Her surgery in May 2022 was expected to be a standard, straightforward procedure that would put an end to her suffering.

‘When I came out of it, I was really groggy from the anesthesia, but I remember my husband was holding one hand and my doctor was holding the other hand,’ DeVillers said.

The anal cancer cells had migrated to her lymph nodes, making it stage 3. 

Between 40 and 70 percent of patients die within five years of being diagnosed with this stage of cancer.

Anal cancer, which develops in the anal canal, is rare, with 10,540 new cases in 2024 and 2,190 deaths.

It is different from colon or rectal cancer and is typically caused by an HPV infection.

In an article DeVillers wrote for Newsweek, she said: ‘I’d been married for a million years! But I also remembered back in college my gynecologist saying: “You have human papillomavirus (HPV), don’t worry it’s common, harmless, and will probably go away by itself.”‘

Estimates suggest 80 percent of sexually active people will contract at least one HPV infection by 45. It is spread via skin-to-skin contact through vaginal, anal or oral sex. It often shows no symptoms. 

According to the CDC, more than 42million Americans are currently infected with the STI and it is estimated 13million people become infected annually.

It is possible to fend off HPV and potentially related cancers with a vaccine for the virus that is 97 percent effective. 

Doctors prescribed DeVillers with aggressive IV chemotherapy, as well as radiation treatments and oral chemotherapy.

Just before three weeks into her treatment and her second IV chemo infusion, she was doing well. She visited friends, worked, and could walk into her doctor’s office unassisted. But after her second infusion, she ‘seemed to crash and burn,’ she said

Just before three weeks into her treatment and her second chemo infusion, she was doing well, but after her second infusion, she ‘seemed to crash and burn,’ she told TODAY.

Her colon became twisted, causing excruciating pain. She vomited neon green bile and then collapsed in the emergency department. She ended up spending five weeks in the intensive care unit.

Doctors noticed her blood cell counts had plummeted, and called her children because they were unsure how much time DeVillers had left. They also enlisted hospice care.

‘That was horrible for my family,’ she said, adding she could feel her body shutting down.

‘I saw this dark tunnel and it had two pricks of white light,’ DeVillers said. This lasted ‘a day or two and I felt darkness. I was very depressed.”

But she began to feel better after a blood transfusion.

DeVillers had lost about 30 pounds and became weak and frail, but her cancer had not shrunk enough to get her closer to remission, and she still had to undergo radiation treatment.

When her treatment ended in August 2022, doctors approached her with ‘cautious good news.’ There were no signs of cancer remaining, though they were still worried about a lymph node that had caused a lump in her abdomen

‘Even as sick as I was, they wheeled me into radiation,’ she said.

‘My radiologist, I’ll forever be grateful for him. He said, “If we stop now, it could come back. But if we keep going to radiation … that’s what’s going to get rid of the tumor.”’

When her treatment ended in August 2022, doctors approached her with ‘cautious good news.’ There were no signs of cancer remaining, though they were still worried about a lymph node that had caused a lump in her abdomen.

Six months later, though, she was cancer-free. It’s been three years since her diagnosis and all of her tests continue to be normal. 

DeVillers felt embarrassed by her cancer at first. When people asked her about it, she said: ‘“Yeah, I’ve got tush cancer.”’

‘Anything so I didn’t have to say anal and then I learned anal cancer is a different animal from rectal or colon cancer.’

Now, she’s joined the board of the HPV Cancer Alliance to remove the stigma and raise awareness of HPV-related cancers. 

She said: ‘Women get it. Men get it. It’s all directly related to getting HPV.’