A young mum with "nothing to worry about" was shocked when her doctor discovered she had cervical cancer.
Elizabeth Ham's previous smear tests had come back clear, and so when the then-34-year-old attended her regular check-up back in November 2020, she thought no more of it. But a week later she received a phone call to attend St Helen’s and Knowsley Teaching Hospital for a coloscopy appointment, a letter then followed to inform her that high risk cells had been found.
Elizabeth then attended Whiston Hospital for an MRI scan, full bloods and a chest X-ray. The next day, she received a devastating diagnosis that she had cervical cancer.
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Of the different types of cervical cancer, Elizabeth had a rare cancer called adenocarcinoma. Attending for her screening appointment enabled the cancer to be found quickly and therefore treated promptly before developing any symptoms.
Elizabeth said: "When I received the initial call, alarm bells started to ring and then I got the letter, my appointment was already made so when I attended, I had the Lletz treatment were the abnormal cells were removed."
She added: "It all happened very fast, I was seen at different hospitals. When I received my diagnosis, I was then referred to the Liverpool Women’s Hospital for my treatment plan and preop."
A couple of days before Christmas 2020 Elizabeth had her appointment with consultant Mohammed Otify at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where he went through her treatment which would involve a radical hysterectomy to remove all cells. On Christmas Eve, she received her operation date for January 2021.
She is now urging other people to attend their smear tests, even if they are confident nothing is wrong. She said because of her test, she is "grateful" to be here.
Elizabeth said: "The operation was a success, a week later I received the all clear and I now attend the women’s every four months for a check up. I was lucky to have Mr Otify, he explained everything and put me at ease.
"I would urge everyone to attend for screening, I had no symptoms and all my previous smears had been clear, I had nothing to worry about but you never know what is going on inside your own body."
Mohamed Otify, Consultant Gynaecological Oncology Surgeon at Liverpool Women’s Hospital added: "Cervical cancer is preventable and detectable, unlike some other female gynaecological cancers a cervical smear, a screening test, can help with early detection. I looked after Elizabeth throughout her treatment journey and followed up with her after her successful surgical outcome. Elizabeth’s story illustrates how vital it is to attend a cervical smear. If you catch it early, there are many different ways to treat it."
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