Itchy Down There For
Over 30 years!
At first, I was upset... and then I started to feel angry
Clare Baumhauer, 44, Kent
When I was 12, my mum took me to see a doctor. Itching and sore down below, I also had a burning sensation when I’d wee. It was horrible. And it wasn’t the first time. Occasionally, my life would be blighted by these embarrassing symptoms.
‘It’s cystitis,’ the doctor told me, prescribing treatment.
Returning a few months later, when it persisted, I was given the same prescription.
For years after, the symptoms came and went.
During my teens, I became too embarrassed to keep seeing the doctor just to be turned away with the same answer.
Cystitis, thrush, just use this lotion...
But nothing helped.
So, my life continued as usual, despite my suffering.
Aged 18, I met my nowhusband Matthew.
We had two kids, Chloe, now 18, and Ben, 13.
Life was wonderful.
But every few months, the same terrible pain and itching returned to haunt me.
Back to the doctors, again.
A swab was taken, but nothing showed up. And blood tests always came back clear.
I kept going for my smear test every three years, and that was fine, too.
But I understood my body better than anyone.
And I knew wholeheartedly that something wasn’t right.
Yet, still, getting nowhere, I just learned to live with it.
Then, in my late 30s, I noticed a small tear between my vagina and anus.
How on earth had that happened?
Ignoring it at first, I thought it would fix itself.
But it didn’t heal. The tear turned into an ulcer, about the size of a 5p coin.
Painful when I sat down, I tried not to think about it.
Then, a few years on, in January 2016, I looked at it using a mirror. I could see that the growth had doubled in size.
I knew I had no choice. I had to go back to the doctor.
‘I think it could be herpes,’ she said after examining me. Stunned, I was speechless.
Referring me to the sexual health clinic, I knew this couldn’t be right.
‘I’ve been with Matthew for 26 years, he’s been my only sexual partner,’ I argued. We were in love, totally faithful.
Reassessing the situation, the doctor had another explanation.
‘I’m going to refer you to the gynaecologist,’ she announced.
Weeks later, I had my appointment.
After taking a look, the gynaecologist looked concerned...
Three biopsies
‘You have the symptoms of vulval cancer,’ she told me. ‘What’s a vulva?’ I asked. I’d never heard of it!
She explained the vulva is everything outside of the vagina – the clitoris, labia, and surrounding areas.
Three biopsies later, my biggest fears were confirmed. Cancer. I had a tumour on my vulva.
‘I can’t believe it,’ I cried to Matthew.
The kids were devastated.
It’d been caused by a skin condition called lichen sclerosus – a long-term skin condition that mainly affects the skin of the genitals.
The lichen
sclerosus increased the risk of vulva cancer and had been there for years.
First upset, I then started to feel angry.
If only I’d been diagnosed earlier, the chance of the condition turning into cancer is extremely low.
I would’ve been prescribed a steroid cream, and it would probably have been under control in a matter of weeks.
Now I was being transferred to
St Thomas’ Hospital in London for an operation to save my life.
The cancer was stage 1B, grade 3, which meant it was small, but growing quickly. Doctors had to act fast. In May last year, I went under the knife
to remove the cancerous tumour. Then, during that summer, I endured 25 torturous sessions of radiotherapy. Further scans revealed yet more bad news.
‘The cancer has spread to your lymph nodes,’ a doctor told me in late 2016. So, in December, six lymph nodes were removed – three of them confirmed as cancerous. Finally on the road to recovery, putting the horror behind me, we took a family holiday to Butlins in Bognor Regis. It was New Year’s Eve, and we were celebrating the end of such a terrible year. But it was still 2016, and there was time yet for more horror for me and my family...
I collapsed and was rushed to the local St Richard’s Hospital.
My lymph nodes had swelled.
I was diagnosed with an infection called cellulitis.
Transferred back to London’s St Thomas’ again, I had my lymph nodes drained. I was on intravenous antibiotics for 20 days. Then, this March, I had the final rounds of my radiotherapy treatment. ‘I’ve got the all clear!’ I squealed with excitement to my children as I was given the results to a scan. But, not surprisingly, it wasn’t all good news. The radiotherapy had brought on early menopause. Plagued by night sweats, hot flushes, mood swings, and fatigue,
I had to start hormone replacement treatment. Then I was diagnosed with lymphedema – swelling of the body’s tissues, which causes swollen, painful limbs. I now have to wear compression tights to keep it under control.
Still so angry
I’m only 44 and have been through so much.
Now, I’m fighting to raise awareness of vulval cancer and to make sure more doctors and nurses can recognise the symptoms. The signs are clear, if you know what to look for. And if it’s picked up quickly, there’s a much better chance of successful treatment. Research online says vulval cancer is most common in women over the age of menopause.
But, on support groups, I’ve met so many women in their 40s and even younger.
I’m still so angry nobody ever picked up on my symptoms. I never had thrush or cystitis. I had a disease that went on to put my life on the line. My decades of discomfort and pain could’ve been avoided with proper diagnosis.
I don’t want anyone else to go through this.
I’m only 44 and have been through so much