A mum who was in "complete shock" after a routine test found she needed a hysterectomy.
Donna Fitzpatrick has shared her story with The ECHO and is now urging others to attend their regular appointments to save lives. On what marked Cervical Cancer Awareness Week, which takes place between January 23-29, people were urged to know the common signs and symptoms of cervical cancer as well as what to expect with a smear test.
Over 3,000 people a year are diagnosed with cervical cancer in the UK alone, but 99.8% cases are preventable. It can often be prevented by attending cervical screening, which aims to find and treat changes to cells before they turn into cancer.
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Donna was one who would often forget about booking in for her smear tests. But after some shock news just weeks after she had given birth, she has made sure she attends them ever since.
When attending her six week check up post birth, Donna assumed everything was normal due to feeling relatively healthy. But tests soon showed she had abnormal cells.
Subsequent tests revealed she had cancerous cells, which was in the early stages. But these eventually cleared. This was 15 years ago, and ever since then Donna has made sure she attends her regular smear tests as she urges other women to do the same.
But around three years ago, abnormal cells were found again, as well as high levels of HPV, which meant her chances of getting cervical cancer had increased. This meant Donna, now 47, would need to have a hysterectomy.
Bravely sharing her journey in the hopes of raising awareness, she told the ECHO: "I kept up with smears since then because it scared me. I thought everything was fine, I didn't have symptoms. But three years ago I had abnormal cells again.
"This meant I was more prone to getting cervical cancer and because of my history they called me in straight away for biopsies but they couldn't do them and it was recommended I have a partial hysterectomy. I didn't have to have any other treatment but when I went for the procedure, they discovered more cells in the mucus lining so I had to have a full hysterectomy.
"I'd had slight tummy pain and cramps but I put that down to a hernia. I also lost a lot of weight, I kept going back and forth to the doctors and they thought it was my thyroids at first. They can't say for sure it was to do with the cancerous cells but since my hysterectomy everything seems to have gone back to normal."
Donna, who lives in Anfield, urges women to attend their smear tests. Cervical screening is one of the best ways to protect yourself from cervical cancer.
It is not a test for cancer, it's a test to help prevent cancer by checking cells for certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV). These types of HPV can cause abnormal changes to the cells in your cervix and are called "high risk" types of HPV.
Donna added: "I'd recommend smear tests, especially younger women. The age really should be changed, it's currently at 25 but I think it should be as soon as you become sexually active because you're more prone to HPV and there's no shame in that.
If you have higher HPV, you are more prone to developing cervical cancer. It's such a quick thing and worth it in the long run. Before I was pregnant, I'd missed a few smears, but my colleagues said don't be daft but after I found that out, I kept up with them.
"The hysterectomy came as a complete shock, I didn't expect that at all. I just want to really heighten and raise awareness."
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