How my story begins: I had very heavy and unusual periods in January and February 2020. I was losing a lot of blood and large clots were coming out of me during these periods. I actually bled for 17 days straight in February. After that, I went and saw my GP. She did a Pap test. She said she could see the cancer - it was that large. The same day I had a phone call from the gynaecologist in the city closest to me who wanted to see me the next morning. I went and saw the gynaecologist the next day. She did approximately 40 biopsies. I also had a CT scan and an MRI done. The results came back pretty much immediately that I had stage 3 cancer and that the cancer was 8 cm large. I had been carrying it around for roughly 10 years according to the size of it.

Life before my diagnosis: Life was pretty busy for me being a single mum working full time. I never really did anything for myself.

How I felt after diagnosis: After I was diagnosed I was a little shocked but I actually expected it as I hadn’t had a Pap test for 17 years so it was inevitable really. (Silly me.) I wasn’t going to let the cancer beat me and I promised myself and my loved ones that I was going to fight it with everything I had. At times I felt sad about having cancer but mostly relieved that it had finally been found and I could begin treating it to make me healthy again.

Telling my family and friends: This was the hardest thing I have ever done. My mum has been with me every step of the way. She was there for the initial diagnosis, and has been the most wonderful support to me. Telling my 2 children both girls (17 & 12 ) and seeing the look on their faces is something I will never forget. They were broken and both cried and told me they didn’t want me to die. I promised them I wasn’t going to let cancer take me away from them. Most of my friends took the news hard and have been great support, but I also lost a few friends along the way either because it was too much for them or it was too hard having a friend with cancer. I still don’t understand why.

My treatment: I had 6 rounds of chemotherapy and 26 rounds of external radiation followed by 3 days straight of brachytherapy. I am currently waiting results of last PET scan (12 week post brachy) to see what the next step of treatment is for me

How I felt after treatment: The side effects of the treatment have been horrible. I’m still losing a lot of weight. I have shallow breathing. I have a lot of scar tissue down there. I still have the pain in my pelvis and down my leg. My hair is still falling out, I have hearing loss in my left ear. But apart from that, which I’m sure will diminish over time, I feel great. I’m looking a lot brighter and feeling a lot healthier then I have for years.

What was most difficult for me: A number of things have been difficult for me during this time:

The chemo really kicked my butt and I remember telling my chemo team a few times to stop chemo and let me die as I was so so sick from the chemo. I’m glad now they didn’t listen to me. LOL.

Also watching my mum and my daughters looking so helpless while I was so sick during treatment and just knowing that they wished they could do more to help me not be so sick or in pain. I felt guilty that they were so worried about me.

Not being able to be the mum my children needed for approximately 3 months while I was sick with the chemo was so difficult. I literally slept and vomited for 3 months during my chemo cycles and I felt guilty that it was my 12 year old that was cooking herself dinner, doing our grocery shopping, getting my medication when I needed it, cleaning the house, looking after me and generally being the “mum” that I should have been. (My 17 year old daughter doesn’t live with me.)

What I did to help myself: I drove myself to the hospital every day for my treatments. (1/2 hour drive) away. I was determined to not rely on people to much plus COVID didn’t allow anyone into the hospital to accompany me. I kept telling myself everyday that I was going to beat this cancer so I was helping my mental health keep on track.

Where I am today: As I’m still waiting to hear whether I’m all clear and cancer free, I still have a little fear that I will need further treatment. I feel 100% better then I have for a long time and every day I get a little better recovering from the ongoing side effects of the treatment I've had. I’m getting stronger and mentally I’m in a good place, knowing that this cancer demon isn’t going to take my life.

What I want other women to know: I want other women to know that you are not alone in this Cervical Cancer fight. Yes it’s a scary and daunting thing to face, but there are many many women out there who have fought and won the battle. Together we will keep on fighting and winning and supporting each other.
Together we will beat Cervical Cancer and remember those who fought bravely before us.

How I will try to help others: I will be there to answer questions and to just support anyone going through a tough time whether it be health wise or other. Having and fighting cancer has taught me that life is way to short and precious to sweat the small stuff and there’s no problems we can’t overcome.