Importance of Cervical Screenings 

With veterinary nurses being made up of predominately women, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the importance of cervical screenings. I will use this space to say there may be some upsetting sentences within this blog for people going through the same, have had cervical cancer or know someone who has/is. For anyone going through this, I written a couple of sections about some of the questions I have had - these are perfectly normal questions for anyone in this situation and you should know you are not alone.

Let’s rewind back to Summer 2021. I was called for my routine cervical screening and I happily went along to it understanding the importance. What I didn’t expect was to receive a letter back saying I had HPV. Although 80% of sexually active women within the UK have had (or will have) HPV at some point in their life, it never crossed my mind that it would be me. I’ve always been careful, I’ve always been sensible, and as horrible as this is for certain people to read, sexual partners have always been kept to an absolute minimum. So, why me? 

I was made aware that the body can naturally get rid of HPV. Sometimes within 12 months, sometimes it can take a couple of years. For three years, I was called for a screening. All three years came back positive for low risk HPV.

Because I’d had three positive tests, I was referred to the hospital to see the gynaecologist. Never a place I expected to be but I knew that if this was my best friend, one of my parents or a work colleague at risk of having cancer, I’d expect them to do what they could to be treated appropriately. Embarrassing? Of course. No one wants to go and do such a thing. Especially when you’re shy like me. But my life depended on it. Although I didn’t quite consider the extent of how my life depended on attending this hospital appointment I'd been invited to.

Whilst I was seeing the gynaecologist, she asked if I would like her to take some biopsies of my cervix. I was maybe a little too enthusiast about the idea because looking back, I didn’t even hesitate and jumped to the chance. The gynaecologist assured me all look well down below and she couldn’t see anything untoward. In fact, she “would be surprised if anything untoward came back”. So, off I went on my jolly way with a smile on my face that I should be okay. 

A few weeks later a letter arrived in the post. I opened it and my world stood still. The first thing I thought was “I can’t believe my family have to go through this again”. And then I thought.... “I’m going to die. And I’m going to die young”. Staring back at me were the words “pre-cancerous cells”. Now, I count myself lucky that they were ‘only’ pre-cancerous cells. But in actual fact, they were just ticking timebombs. Graded stage 3 out of 4. They were just waiting to switch into cancerous cells which could have been any time.

So, let’s talk about my health up until receiving this letter. What were my symptoms? I didn’t have any. Ever sick? No. Ever any concerns to make me think ‘do I have cancer or is there anything wrong with my reproductive system?’. No. Bog standard happy, healthy, fit 31 year old. So, again, WHY ME? I don’t drink alcohol often, I don’t smoke, I don’t touch drugs. So WHY?! 

I’d been vaccinated again HPV at school – and thank God I was. It’s common knowledge for anyone working within medicine that vaccinations don’t prevent something from happening, it just reduces the extent if something is caught. So, I’d been vaccinated against HPV, I caught it, it was turning cancerous. Had I not been vaccinated; I could have been unknowingly walking around with cancer. And that scared me.

Once I had received that letter, my brain was naturally filed with so many questions. My main question being: if all of my cervical screenings have come back low risk HPV for the last three years, the gynaecologist couldn’t see anything untoward just a few weeks ago.... why am I suddenly at a stage where I need to have further treatment and reading words that aren't as "low risk" as we originally thought?

I knew what the next steps were. I needed to have a LLETZ (Large Loop Excision of the Transformation Zone). I needed to have some of my cervix removed. Scared? Of course. More scared of dying? Definitely. 

Whilst waiting for the procedure, I had many sleepless nights. I tried to keep off Dr Google but I had certain questions for it. However, I did mainly look on the Cancer Research and MacMillan websites about the statistics of cervical cancer. 

Let’s be brutally honest - I wanted to know: 

• What the chances were of having some cervix removed and it coming back with cancerous cells? 
• What the next step would be if there were cancerous cells found? 
• Risks of the LLETZ procedure 
• Life expectancy of a cervical cancer patient 
• How long would I have to live if I was found to have advanced cancer which was terminal
• But my Google history consisted of: “ideas for bucket list that I haven’t thought about if I am told I have 3-6 months to live”, “is dying from cervical cancer painful”, “what happens with end-of-life care for cancer patients” 

I phoned my gynaecologist who put me at ease a lot and basically told me I was silly for thinking this far into things. I accepted her words, finished the call by laughing but then Googled statistics of another conversation we had – babies. 

If I put £1 into a money box for every time I said “I’d love to have a baby”, I could afford to pay for everyone’s bucket lists. So, here we go again onto something different: 

• What are the chances of becoming infertile after a LLETZ procedure 
• What are the chances of miscarrying after a LLETZ procedure 
• What are the chances of a premature birth after a LLETZ procedure 
• What are the chances of not being able to have a natural birth 

And the burning question arises once again......... “what is the survival rate of cervical cancer?”. 

I would hop from questioning the chances of having cancer to convincing myself I had cancer to let’s now look at whether I can still have a baby or not. It would go from one extreme to the other and I can honestly say that I feel I had a good insight into what goes through people’s minds when they are preparing for the words “you have cancer”. I replayed those words over and over. And then I realised those words aren’t verbalised anymore. They’re written in a letter, sent via Royal Mail and you’re left to stand in your kitchen to read them. So, I started picturing myself reading that letter. Alone. Why? Because it was the worst-case scenario and I needed to prepare myself for the worst.

At time of writing this, I am around 3 months away from having my “test of cure”. I am not entirely in the clear yet. I do often lay in bed and think “what if my next test comes back with HPV, I go back to the gynaecologist and there’s been missed pre-cancerous cells which have now developed into cancer?”. I don’t know the statistics of that happening – I have refused to look because the amount of times I’ve driven myself mad for no reason is mad enough in itself. 

One thing I’ve realised for certain is that my life is worth so much more than worrying about becoming a Mum. Obviously, I hope I am lucky enough to become a Mum one day. But it’s more important that I am here. For my family. Happy and healthy. 

The reason I have shared my story is because I have always been quite open about it when speaking to people. So much so, it has encouraged people to go for their cervical screenings. Some are now having yearly checks due to having HPV, some have tested negative and they are okay. But I want women to be aware of how silent this cancer can be, the importance of attending your screenings and how quickly screenings are done. I know it seems scary, I know it feels embarrassing but you don’t have anything to worry about it. These nurses see vaginas every day, they’re not bothered by yours. They just want you to be well and catch anything untoward QUICKLY.

I’ve added in some statistics and information below to help raise awareness for cervical cancer and to help others understand just how important screenings are. Symptoms of cervical cancer tend to show within the later stages of cancer which proves just how important these screenings are - it is literally a silent killer, people often not realising until it's almost too late.

Please, just a few minutes of having a screening can save your life just like I am hoping it has saved mine.

Links:

Cancer Research - Cervical Cancer Screening Information

Cancer Research - Statistics (they're more positive than we realise)

MacMillan - Cervical Cancer Information & Support

There are also Facebook support groups which are fantastic and full of other ladies who have their own experiences which they are happy to share.

I will also take the opportunity to share contact details for VetLife which is open for all vets, vet nurses and students and families of veterinary professionals. Their contact number is 0303 040 2551. They are available 24/7.