Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Women need to know how vital a smear is.. it could be life-saving
Cancer survivor Marianne warns not to ignore appointments
A WOMAN who survived cervical cancer has urged females not to ignore their smear test appointments and to go and have them done promptly when called.
Marianne Nicholson, 44, was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma in July 2017 following her first exam in four years, after putting off her routine three-year invitation.
She’d been having abnormal bleeding along with lower back pain for a few months but thought the pill she was on was playing havoc with her system.
It was only when a good friend urged her to go for a smear that she found out she had cervical cancer.
She then had to wait for the results of an MRI scan to define the staging of the disease.
Marianne, from Saintfield, Co Down, said: “Nothing will ever really prepare you for being told you have cancer.
“But you do accept it and manage to get on with your life. My surgery, a radical hysterectomy with lymph node removal, was scheduled for September 2017 and I came through it successfully.
“I also had endometriosis and this was taken away with my tumour.
“The aftermath of having cancer and major surgery was up and down but I would say I handled it better than I thought I ever would.
“I went back to work after six weeks which helped me a great deal as I felt I was getting my life back to ‘normal’.
LUCKY
“I had major surgery and I’m now out the other side. I try to have a more positive outlook on life and tell myself it could have been so much worse for me and there are people much worse off and I am one of the lucky ones.
“I still have the odd bad day but I get through it and pick myself up.
“It was my smear test that caught mine so early on but I worry that some women might not go when they are called for their appointments.
“They need to realise how important smears are in detecting cervical cancer and also to look out for the signs.”
The legal secretary is now helping Cancer Focus Northern Ireland raise awareness of the disease and highlight the signs and symptoms during Cervical Cancer Prevention Week which runs from today until Sunday.
Senior cancer prevention officer Naomi Thompson said: “Around 100 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in Northern Ireland each year. A smear test is designed to spot any unusual changes before cancer develops.
“Screening programmes were paused for four months last year due to Covid19, which has led to a backlog.
“However, we would urge women to continue to take up their invitation for screening when they receive one.”
Visit www.cancerfocusni.com.
I worry that some women may not go when they are called MARIANNE NICHOLSON SAINTFIELD, CO DOWN