Cancer took my gran, but a smeartestcaughtmyillness

Mum-of-two Louise Ross knows the devastation cancer can bring, as she has lost several family members to the disease, including her gran Helen to cervical cancer.

That’s why she never misses a smear test. And one day it saved her life.

The 37-year-old, from Annan, wants others to heed her story – and get checked.

She said: “Because of my family history I went for regular smears as a precaution but last year the results came back abnormal.

“I wasn’t overly worried, but three weeks later, I was sent for a colposcopy, and they took a biopsy.

“But one day the doctor called and said they had found cancer. It was a shock, but she was so supportive she made the news a bit easier to grasp.”

Louise was found to have large cell neuroendocrine cancer, a rare and aggressive form of cervical cancer which affects just 1-3% of people diagnosed. She said: “It was devastating, but in my mind, I was 35, had two kids and myself and my husband James had already decided not to have any more, so not as devastating as it may have been for someone younger or who hadn’t started a family yet.

“Getting the diagnosis, I felt relieved because at least then I knew what I was dealing with.”

She underwent a radical hysterectomy and surgeons removed lymph nodes from her pelvis and abdomen.

She said: “I’m lucky the cancer was caught in time.

“I didn’t have any of the typical symptoms – so if I hadn’t had that smear, the cancer could easily have been far more advanced.

“I have always gone for regular smear tests – my gran actually died from cervical cancer because it was just too advanced.

“Now I am determined to stress to others just how important they are.”

Louise added: “I have posted messages about my journey on Facebook and Instagram, mostly as an awareness thing.”