'I was refused a smear test - two years later I was diagnosed with cervical cancer'
To mark Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (from 21st to 28th January) Vikki Ellis, 35, has courageously spoken out about being diagnosed with cervical cancer at the tender age of 25. After beginning to suffer from symptoms including lower back and pelvic pain over a decade ago, Vikki struggled to understood the cause of her problems.
"I hadn’t heard of cervical cancer until I was watching Big Brother and Jade Goody was pulled off. But when a few years later I started experiencing symptoms, I still didn’t have any information. There was nothing online like there is today. The information out there was almost nonexistent to me," she revealed, the Mirror reports.
Having developed these worrying signs at just 23, Vikki tried her best to find answers - something which proved difficult. Although there around 3,300 new cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in the UK annually, Vikki discovered that securing a diagnosis wasn't easy, especially given her young age.
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"I went to the doctors and I got palmed off with the fact that I was too young to have a smear. I was almost told that it wouldn't be cervical cancer because I was ‘too young’," she recalls.
"On multiple occasions I got sent to STI clinics even though I’d been with my now-husband Scott for years. Every time I was there, it was just humiliating for me because it was almost like they were accusing one of us of having an affair. Obviously those results came back negative."
Despite her symptoms, Vikki and her partner Scott decided to continue with their plans to travel Australia. However, due to a family illness, they returned to the UK in their second year, giving Vikki access to the NHS cervical screening programme.
"We were doing our second year visa in Australia and we only came back because his grandad got really sick. Otherwise I think that Australia would have been my home and I would have stayed there. I feel like Scott’s grandad almost saved my life because I don't think we would have come back," she admits.
After living with her symptoms for two years, Vikki went for her first smear test as soon as she was able to. But just days after her appointment, she received the news that the test had been inconclusive and another smear was required. Abnormal cells were then discovered and she underwent a colposcopy and MRI.
"Two days later I was sitting in a 7:30am slot with my dad and sister as well as a consultant and a Macmillan nurse. That's when I was told that I had cervical cancer. I’d had all of these symptoms for two years but it took that long to be heard. It was just heartbreaking," she says.
"I was in utter shock. My sister was next to me and she kept rubbing my back. At the end of this whole conversation they asked if I had any questions. I smiled and said I was good - I don't think I had absorbed what was said to me."
The reality hit her when she stepped outside, “It wasn't until I walked outside and the nurse came up to me and gave me a leaflet that said cervical cancer on the front that it clicked. I went back home with my dad and I had to take the day off work. I sat on my dad's sofa all day and I just cried. I didn't know what to expect. I didn’t know what the journey ahead was going to look like.”
After being referred to The Royal Marsden, Vikki had further tests and then underwent surgery that removed the majority of her cervix and some lymph nodes in her stomach, leaving her with "warrior scars" around her belly button.
Ahead of her five-year check-up in 2020, Vikki took the initiative to raise funds for charity by throwing a socially distanced garden party, snipping 14 inches off her lengthy locks and raised over £2,000 in the process. But as she reached the milestone, doctors discovered something concerning during one of her tests.
“Because it was Covid, I could only go to the hospital by myself so I got into a room with quite a few doctors and nurses. They were talking amongst themselves as if something was there, but they couldn't get to it. I remember they all left for me to get dressed and I sobbed and sobbed so much in that room. I was terrified," she explains.
“Just before Christmas, they told me that if it was cancer, I needed to prepare myself for a hysterectomy. Thankfully they weren’t cancerous this time, but I was so traumatised that I ended up opting to have a preventative hysterectomy because my mental health had really been affected by the possibility of a future occurrence.”
Now Vikki uses her voice to inspire others to not neglect their smear tests. The statistics are alarming; research commissioned by The Lady Garden Foundation found that 46% of women surveyed were deliberately avoiding these crucial cervical screenings.
Vikki is determined to make a difference, spreading the word about the importance of early detection and encouraging women to take their health seriously. “I'm stronger than ever. I look back at my ten years and think I'm really strong and I've come a long way,” she explains.
“My daughter’s only seven but she knows that mummy has been in hospital and she's been here when I've recovered from surgeries. I know full well that she's so proud of me even doing these and sharing my story.”
Research has shown that embarrassment is the main reason why people intentionally skip screenings, with one in 10 admitting they have postponed it because they forgot to wax or shave beforehand. However, for Vikki, it’s vital that people attend their smear test when invited.
"I’m such an advocate for everybody to have their smear. I know a lot of people have so many reasons for why they don't go, whether it’s embarrassment or if they forgot or they don't have time.
"Even the other day I was messaging my friends and I encouraged two of them, who’d forgotten because they have children, to book theirs. Even if just one person reads my story and thinks ‘I need to book mine’ then I feel like I’ve done my job."
To help combat some of the common misconceptions and myths that exist around cervical cancer, and to help empower and educate women on symptoms and prevention, The Lady Garden Foundation has created a ‘Don’t Beat Around the Bush’ myth-busting guide for women to download from their website
