My mum was 41 when she was diagnosed with Cervical Cancer.
It was a fateful recall letter from the hospital that required her to make an appointment to see her doctor that confirmed her worst fears; she had Cancer.
Fortunately, it was a Papsmear that dedicated the abnormal cells in it's early stages. If mum had've been one of the millions of women who put offtheir biannually test, then who knows what the outcome would've been.
The major cause of Cervical Cancer is the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Mum's Cancer fell under this stream, also known as the warts virus. The only warts that mum ever experienced were on her hands as a teenager.
Mum had no symptoms or signs of the illness; it was purely detected by her Papsmear.
Luckily for mum, her Cancer was caught in the early stages. After seeing a Gyneocologist, she was informed that she would need the abnormal cells burnt off with ice.
Mum was required to have monthly Papsmears after she went into remission to check to make sure there were no more abnormal cell growths.
Now, 8 years later, mum is back to normal biannually Papsmears.
I still remember when mum told me that she had Cancer; I was in Year 11. While I didn't fully understand what Cancer was, I knew that it had the potential to take a life if it wasn't detected and treated in it's early stages. I remember walking down to mum's room in tears one night, pushing on her bedroom door, and asking her if everything was going to be okay. I was scared of losing my mum.
My mum is one of the lucky ones who is still here to tell her tale.
So please, make sure that you keep track of and have regular Papsmears, or encourage your partner to do so, for you never know what could be lurking beneath the surface.
Look after yourself and those around you,
Kirsty xxx
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