• Posted September 23, 2025

Teen Develops Rare Vaginal Cancer Typically Found In Older Women

Liliana “Lili” Casteneda had what she thought was her first period at the age of 14, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But then her monthly bleeding turned into daily bleeding, and the bleeding got so bad Casteneda soaked through pads in 15 minutes and became dizzy when standing up.

Her local doctor told her it was just stress from the pandemic, but Casteneda insisted something was wrong, and it was.

It turned out Casteneda had a rare vaginal cancer called clear cell carcinoma. Thanks to her insistence, she was diagnosed a month before her 15th birthday.

In this condition, the cancer cells look clear when viewed under a microscope. It typically occurs in women after menopause, said Casteneda’s physician, Dr. Dario Roque.

“In my 15 years of practicing medicine, Liliana is the youngest patient I’ve treated for clear cell carcinoma – most of my patients are in their 60s,” Roque, a gynecologic oncologist at the Lurie Cancer Center at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, said in a news release.

Doctors treated Casteneda with a combination of external beam radiation therapy and brachytherapy, another type of radiation therapy that uses a radioactive implant placed inside the body to directly attack tumors.

“Liliana’s tumor was about the size of a golf ball,” Dr. Jonathan Strauss, a radiation oncologist at Lurie Cancer Center, said in a news release.

“At the time of her diagnosis, the tumor was too large for us to surgically remove it, so we had to use external and internal radiation therapies to help shrink it,” Strauss said. “It took a lot of radiation to get rid of her tumor, along with chemotherapy.”

These sorts of cancer treatments can affect a woman’s ability to have children. But Casteneda was born with Turner Syndrome, a genetic condition that causes infertility, so doctors could attack the cancer full-force without delay.

Casteneda was officially declared cancer-free in March 2021. Inspired by her health care team, Casteneda — now 19 — is taking college nursing classes.

“I can’t wait to become a nurse and help other kids navigate their medical journey,” she said.

Doctors are impressed with her drive.

“We knew Liliana was going to do great things no matter what, but when she told us she wanted to go to nursing school, the entire Northwestern Medicine team that took care of her was very touched,” Strauss said.

Casteneda also urges women to talk to a doctor if they’re experiencing abnormal bleeding or bleeding between periods or after menopause. These, along with pain or urinary symptoms, are the first signs of clear cell carcinoma of the vagina.

“If you feel like something is wrong, don’t hesitate and get it checked out,” she said.

More information

The Cleveland Clinic has more about vaginal cancer.

SOURCE: Northwestern Medicine, news release, Sept. 17, 2024