I thought I had bad period pain – turns out I had cancer
A25-YEAR-OLD who thought she just had bad period pain was devastated to learn she actually had cancer.
Antonia Atherton, who lives in Widnes, was diagnosed with cancer in the wall of her vagina eight weeks ago, after she went for a smear test.
She suffers with endometriosis – a condition which causes tissue to grow outside the uterus – and because of it has had regular smear tests since she was 16.
One of the symptoms of the condition is crippling period pain, as well as pelvic pain, pain during sex and pain when urinating.
So when Antonia was suffering with what she called ‘bad period pain’, she thought it was just a symptom of the condition and said she could not believe it when doctors told her it was in fact cancer.
She said: “I didn’t even think vaginal cancer was possible.
“Obviously I had heard of cervical cancer but this is cancer in the wall of the vagina.
“I had never even heard of it and couldn’t believe what they were saying.”
Within a week Antonia, who lives with her boyfriend of three years, James Standen, had to undergo laser treatment on the abnormal cells and began her first of six rounds of chemotherapy as well as radiotherapy.
Because of the treatment Antonia, who runs a baby clothes stall in St Johns Market, lost her hair and her eyebrows.
She said: “Being a Scouse girl your hair and your ‘Scouse brows’ are a big thing.
“I am more devastated about losing my eyebrows than my hair and it is hard when I look in the mirror because I just think eyebrows completely change your face but as long as the cancer goes, it is only hair at the end of the day – it will grow back.”
Antonia said she was also coming to terms with the possibility that she may not be able to have children in the future because of the chemotherapy, as her chances were already low due to having endometriosis.
She said: “I will have regular checks for life and I just have to hope it doesn’t come back.
“If it did then I would probably have to have a hysterectomy but the chemotherapy alone could make me infertile which is something I would have to deal with.
“I try not to think about it and I think I perhaps need to have some therapy to be able to sit down and speak to someone about it, but my boyfriend has been amazing.
“We have obviously talked about having children, but he is so supportive.
“He already has a child and he has just been amazing about it.”
Antonia added: “I would advise any woman who has any of the symptoms to go to the GP and ask for a smear test.
“And don’t be embarrassed. I understand because it is vaginal cancer it is a sort of embarassing area to talk about, especially with men, but they need to be aware of what can happen to women too.”
Latest figures show that cases of vaginal cancer are much lower than other gynaecological forms, with 254 new cases recorded in the UK in 2014, compared with 3,224 cases of cervical cancer and 7,378 cases of ovarian cancer.