A third of Manchester women failed to attend cervical cancer screening tests in 2012-2013, and now an Oldham mum-of-two, and cervical cancer survivor, is urging women to get tested.
Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust discovered that one in five women nationally ignored the opportunity to be tested while in Manchester one in three of women aged 25-49 missed appointments.
She said: “Cancer is devastating and even if you are given the all clear, it never leaves you.
“It’s scary that some women don’t go for screening. To be uncomfortable or embarrassed for the length of time the test takes, a few seconds, is nothing compared to cancer.”
HAPPIER TIMES: Becky on a day-trip with her husband and two children
The 39-year-old had to undergo a radical hysterectomy involving the removal of her womb, ovaries, cervix and half of the vagina, followed by surgery to remove 34 lymph nodes from her pelvis and the lower part of her stomach.
Becky explained: “I was in hospital in total two full weeks after the op. I had to have 20 sessions of radiotherapy which was quite gruelling.”
Back home, her ordeal was still not over and she was hospitalised once again with septicaemia and a blood clot on the lung.
She said: “I was on an IV drip for 5 days – cervical cancer is very aggressive and can quickly go elsewhere.
“The experience has left me with mental and physical scars.”
She stressed the need for women to persist if they experience any abnormal pain or bleeding.
She said: “I went to the doctor’s with all the classic symptoms of cervical cancer – back pain, bleeding, and unpleasant discharge.
TRIP OF A LIFETIME: Charity-funded mini break to London with family
“The doctor said exercise could have caused the bleeding and it was 13 months before I was diagnosed
“Anything that is not normal, you’ve really got to push for it and stick up for yourself. We know our own bodies so well.”
Communications Manager at Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, Maddy Durant, said: “The numbers are massive. Hundreds of thousands of women are not going for screening every year.
“If we can encourage women to go for it we can bring incidences down. We are so lucky in this country to have screening.”
Sarah Williams, health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said that it’s recommended that women go to screenings when they are invited.
CAMPAIGNER: Becky (left) manning the stand with best friend Louise Hassall
She said: “Screening picks up early changes in the cells of the cervix which could develop into cancer if left alone, preventing thousands of deaths from cervical cancer every year in the UK.
“It’s important for women of any age to be aware of the signs and symptoms of cervical cancer and tell their doctor if they notice bleeding from the vagina after sex, between periods, or after the menopause, or any other unusual or persistent changes.”
For more information visit http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/
For help, support and donations visit www.jostrust.org.uk
