Transcript of
Cervical cancer: Tina's story
I would regularly go for my smear test
when I got my invitation from Primary Care.
So that's every three years.
From when I got the results through that I had abnormal cells,
I was referred to a local hospital for investigations.
I went along there, had some tests done under general anaesthetic,
and then went back for the results.
That's when I was diagnosed with cancer.
It's a very surreal feeling.
One minute your life is just going along normally
and then the next minute
it's all completely blown into a journey you're not expecting.
It's emotional, it's scary,
but once you know, I think, where you're at
and what operations are available to you and what treatments,
you then just go onto the next stage of it.
I was fortunate that my cancer was in one particular area,
it hadn't spread anywhere,
so I was put forward for what is called a trachalectomy.
The main parts of a trachalectomy are that my cervix has been removed,
so if I did go on to have children I would have to have a Caesarean.
They remove lymph nodes through keyhole surgery
in four areas of the stomach.
And they remove part of the neck of the womb,
which is where my cancer actually was.
It's not a full hysterectomy, so fortunately for me,
they could keep my fertility.
So I can actually still have children.
The minute you get your appointment through for your smear test,
you need to book it.
I'm living proof that having your smear test can save your life.
If you don't book it when you're due it
the stage of your cancer could go to a point
where you're not going to be here like I am four years down the line.