Woman Goes Into Hospital For Colon Surgery, Wakes Up To Find Out Doctor’s Saved Her Life

In September 2023, Devlynn Cyr went to the hospital for a colectomy, believing it was a procedure to fix her ruptured colon caused by chronic pain, constipation, and inflammation.

TikTok/@devlynncyr

Contrary to her expectations of an ostomy, which involves an external opening for waste disposal, Devlynn, aged 38, woke up to the shocking news that she had stage 3 colon cancer. 

During the surgery, while she was under anesthesia, doctors found her reproductive organs in such a severe state that they had to perform a hysterectomy. 

She later shared this unexpected turn of events in a TikTok video, which was viewed by 1.5 million people, emphasizing that "everything was like concrete."

COURTESY OF DEVLYNN CYR

As the Alberta, Canada, resident explains to PEOPLE exclusively, “My husband gets a phone call halfway through surgery saying, 'Here's the problem. We found a tumor and it's cemented to my uterus.'”

When the hospital called, Greg Cyr tells PEOPLE that, “My first thought was that, ‘Wow, they're done already? That's good.’ I thought that was a good sign that things went smoothly.”

Instead, Greg was told Devlynn had a tumor the size of a baseball. “In order to safely remove the tumor, they need to do a hysterectomy,” he says. 

COURTESY OF DEVLYNN CYR

“Okay, so this is happening and this just got a lot more real,” says Greg, adding he was afraid his wife of six months would “be mad at me and resent me for having to make that decision. We had talked about having children.”

Greg received an explanation from the doctors regarding Devlynn's condition. They pointed out that because of the effects of cancer on her Fallopian tubes and uterus, the possibility of pregnancy was not viable, as he recollects.

COURTESY OF DEVLYNN CYR

This revelation meant that Devlynn, who had previously worked as a paramedic and had recently suffered a miscarriage, woke up to a completely unexpected reality about her reproductive future.

“All of a sudden, my husband sits on the bed and he's like, ‘I gotta tell you something,’ and my heart sank. He said, ‘I had to make a decision, and they gave you a hysterectomy, but you have no ostomy bag.’”

“I couldn't process the hysterectomy because I'm like, ‘I now don't have an option of children?” she tells PEOPLE, saying she wanted to know, “Did they retrieve some eggs for me to be able to have children in the future? Like, do they even think of these things?”

Devlynn faced heartbreak as her eggs were not retrieved. Seeking solace and understanding from those in similar situations, she turned to TikTok to explore the experiences and insights shared by others dealing with cancer and fertility issues.

“A lot of the TikTok videos that I found were just, ‘You can do this and you've got this and you're gonna be ok. And yes, it sucks.’ But nobody tells you the real and raw in-between. I couldn't find anything about how they were coping or the breakdowns or just how real this really is.”

“I'm an anxious person. I can't find anything to relate to,” she remembers thinking. “So I'm gonna do it myself.”

She started sharing “the drama-filled ups and downs of having cancer. The hardship on a marriage or a relationship.”

Devlynn says she had 88 followers when she made her first video on September 26. 

“I woke up to almost 13,000.”

Devlynn doesn't hold back from sharing the harsh realities of cancer, including the challenges like painful constipation and uncontrollable bowel movements that can come with her treatment. 

“Some people are like, ‘Why are you posting this? We don't wanna know about your poop on the floor that your husband had to pick up because I couldn't make it to a bathroom.’ And I'm like, ‘But this is the reality when you're a caretaker through this surgery, through everything.’”

But the naysayers are in the minority, “A lot of people were like, 'Thank you. This is exactly how I felt. I was scared, too. Now, I know that I don't need to be.'”

Devlynn has received information that her cancer carries a 50% chance of recurrence without chemotherapy. Despite her reluctance, she shares with PEOPLE that she is preparing to embark on the six-month-long chemotherapy process, expressing, "I don't want to, but I don't wanna die either."

She has already started documenting the initial steps of her chemotherapy journey, such as having a port line installed, on her TikTok account.

But while Devlynn tells PEOPLE “I don't feel strong,” her husband disagrees.

“She really is so strong, like what she's going through and the way she is, and she's putting it out there and helping so many,” Greg tells PEOPLE.

“I sit for hours and I read comments,” Devlynn, who also created a Facebook messenger group with her real account for anyone to join and share their health journey, she says.

“If anybody messages me, I take time out of my day to be like, Thank you for reaching out. I appreciate you.”

“Nobody is alone,” she continues. “I really hope that people find solace in seeing that we're working through this. It's okay to not be okay sometimes.”