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My Story | Julie M., United Kingdom
Cervical cancer (squamous cell), stage 2, March 2000 at 38
Internal and external radiotherapy, chemotherapy (cisplatin)
As there don't seem to be any other stories of stage 2 cervical cancer
survivors here, I'll add mine!
My name is Julie. I am nearly 40 years old and was diagnosed with stage
2 squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix in March 2000. I have two teenage
children, and have been married to my (second) husband for three years.
I am a qualified nurse, with an extra qualification in occupational health
nursing.
Since 1996, I had been troubled with recurrent cystitis/urinary tract
infections and had a cystoscopy with dilation as a day patient. I mention
this as an extra, as no one has made any connection between the urinary
tract infections and the subsequent cancer diagnosis but me. The procedure
worked, but as an added problem I began to bleed after intercourse, and
smear (Pap) tests and internal examinations were difficult because I always
bled a bit.
My doctor, who was always helpful and thorough, did another Pap test
(my Paps in 1992 and 1995 had been reported as normal) and referred me
for a gynaecological opinion. This came through for early 1998, and at
the initial appointment, the young doctor said that I should return for
an examination and biopsy taken under general anaesthetic. When I had
the procedure, however, no biopsy was taken, just "cauterisation
of a benign cervical erosion."
The bleeding continued and gradually got worse. As I had just started
a new job and moved house, and was due to get married in the coming months,
I went to my (new) doctor. He examined me, and then referred me again
to the hospital. I pulled a few strings and got an appointment fairly
quickly where "cauterisation of a benign erosion" was performed
again. And again, no biopsy was taken.
The bleeding continued, and by this time, I was also feeling tired all
the time. Since I was not anaemic, this was put it down to a demanding
job, the wedding, children, house etc.!
The organisation I was contracted to work for announced that in three
months time they would not be renewing my contract, so I decided to look
around. I landed a "peach" of a job - a real step up the ladder!
The bleeding was really getting me down by this time and I was relying
on tranexamic acid to stop it more and more. The day before I started
the new job, I had a really heavy bleed - so sudden and so heavy I was
frightened. After I had stopped it with tablets a few days later, I asked
for an urgent referral to hospital. Since this was going to be an eight-week
wait, I paid to see a gynaecologist privately. As a "routine"
screen, he did a smear (Pap) test and rang me at my new place of work
a couple of days later to tell me it showed severe cellular changes. Biopsies
followed which indicated an advanced cervical carcinoma. The MRI (magnetic
resonance imaging) scan showed that the tumour had spread into the vagina
and up into the womb, but thankfully, not into the lymph nodes or into
the pelvic wall.
My treatment consisted of five weeks of external radiotherapy, two sessions
of internal radiotherapy, and five sessions of chemotherapy (cisplatin).
I'm still always tired, and have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue
syndrome. Although I have made four unsuccessful attempts to return to
work, I'm grateful to say I'm still here, praising the Lord, and getting
on with life as best I can. EyesOnThePrize.org has been, and continues
to be, a real gift. Thank you.
August 2002
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