-
Two Years On
Two years ago today I attended my first colposcopy appointment. I was 29 years old and I had just had my second baby. I was pretty much exuding happiness, tired happiness, but happiness nonetheless. Cancer. It’s a word none of us want to hear, ever. Not for ourselves or for those around us. It’s deceitful, it’s cunning and sly. It hides and it eludes is. It puts those who are diagnosed with it through hell (and that’s putting it mildly). It’s the word I heard by the end of that first appointment. As time goes by I become increasingly aware that I’m able to examine this memory from different angles.…
-
Vaginal Cancer
This a cancer that was realtively new to me to be honest, I knew that cervical cancer could spread down into the vagina but this is all about cancer that begins in the vagina. The NHS says it’s rare, especially in women under 40 but I still think it’s well worth knowing about it, and how to look out for it. Symptoms of Vaginal Cancer include: Vaginal bleeding after the menopause Bleeding after sex or pain during sex Smelly or bloodstained vaginal discharge Bleeding between periods A lump or itch in your vagina that won’t go away Pain when peeing, or needing to pee a lot. If you have these symptoms…
-
Vulval Cancer
While I was fighting cervical cancer, my aunt was going through Vulval Cancer and it was the first time I’d ever heard of it to be honest. When we think of cancers we mostly assume they are inside the body. Then we think about skin cancer being down to sun exposure, but the vulva isn’t exactly a part of the body you think of getting much sun exposure now is it? So, Vulval cancer is a rare type of cancer affecting women. Vulva is the word we use to describe the external female genitalia including: The lips surrounding the vagina (labia minora and labia majora) The clitoris The Bartholin’s Glands,…
-
Womb Cancer
So, although I knew Womb Cancer existed, this is a new cancer to me. I will be learning just as much as you guys are as I write the post. Cancer of the womb, also sometimes known as uterine or endometrial cancer, is a common cancer affecting women’s reproductive systems. It is more common in women who have experienced the menopause. The most common symptom of Womb Cancer is abnormal vaginal bleeding. That simply means bleeding that is unusual for you, including heavier periods than you usually have. Other symptoms include: Pain in the back, legs or pelvis Loss of appetite Tiredness Nausea Most Womb Cancers begin in the cells…
-
Cervical Cancer
Of the five gynaecological cancers this is the one that I have battled. This is the cancer that has robbed me of organs, has caused me so much pain, meant I’ve been through treatment that has stripped my nervous system and left my immune system in tatters. This is the cancer that has made me want to fight to make sure every woman knows her own body and how to ensure she stays healthy ❤️ So, here we go, your very own crash course in cervical cancer: Cervical cancer develops in a woman’s cervix (the entrance to the womb). It’s thought to mainly effect sexually active women between the ages of…
-
The Eye of the Storm
During the middle of some of the most intense pain flares I’ve had, I seem to have found the eye of the storm. A place where I can stand and breathe where I can dream of being pain free. It takes some finding, and sometimes I question if I’m really in the middle of it or just so overwhelmed by the pain that my body just gives out. I suppose it could be either. When it starts I can feel the buzzing in my feet begin to increase and then it starts to creep up my legs, slowly at first, as if teasing me “ooh, you know what’s coming but…
-
Telling it As it is
Now, every time I witness a strong person, I want to know: What darkness did your conquer in your story? Mountains do not rise without earthquakes ~ Katherine Mackenett Tuesday, 19th December 2017 The day that the darkness began. This was the day that I first heard the word cancer. That I saw the look on the doctors face and I first asked if I was going to die. The day I phoned my mum and sobbed down the phone to her “What if I am dying Mum?”. This was the day in my history that will forever be written as the one that the C-bomb exploded on, casualties still…
-
A New Path
I remember being a little girl playing mummies and daddies knowing that my ultimate goal in life was to have my own family. I wanted the perfect bloke (and I did pretty well on that front, even if I do say so myself), the house, 2.4 kids, you know, the whole 9 yards. I wanted that more than anything else. I think it’s why I struggled so much when people asked me what I wanted to “do”. I loved what I studied but I always wanted to answer that question with “be a wife and a mother”. That’s why when I was diagnosed with cancer it felt like a particularly…
-
A Health Update – My Stent & I.
Since May 2018 I have had a stent in my right ureter. Not to be confused with urethra. (Quick biology lesson: ureters run from kidney to bladder. Phew, it really was quick!) My pelvic tumour was pressing on it, causing my right kidney to become every so slightly enlarged because it was having to work ever so slightly harder than it was to pump urine down to the bladder. (Hence why kidney pain can be a symptom of advanced cervical cancer) These stents are temporary and need changing every 4-6 months. My first one barely made itself known until just before it was due to be whipped out and replaced,…
-
Remission
This part of my life is something that is worthy of more than one insta post. It’s massive, beyond all understanding. It was entirely unexpected and triggered a whole host of wild emotions. Elation, total pure joy, disbelief, fear. Remission was unexpected. I remember being told that the cancer was incurable and asking if remission was a possibility. My oncologist told me that it wasn’t, the term remission was usually held for cancers like leukaemia, not cervical. It was then she told me that the cancer was “life shortening” (her exact words) and she progressed to give me 5 years left to live. That moment is one that will be…
