'Doctors thought I had an STI - the reality was even more heartbreaking'

Vikki Ellis was conscionable 25 years aged erstwhile she received the quality that she had cervical cancer. 10 years on, the mum-of-one is connected a ngo to guarantee others be their smear tests

With the 21st to 28th January marking Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, 1 pistillate has opened up astir her acquisition of the disease.

For 35-year-old Vikki Ellis, encouraging others to be cervical screenings has go a passionateness aft she was diagnosed with cervical cancer erstwhile she was conscionable 25. Over 10 years ago, Vikki was excitedly looking guardant to going travelling with her semipermanent spouse Scott erstwhile she began experiencing symptoms including little back pain and pelvic pain.

“I hadn’t heard of cervical crab until I was watching Big Brother and Jade Goody was pulled off. But erstwhile a fewer years aboriginal I started experiencing symptoms, I inactive didn’t person immoderate information. There was thing online similar determination is today. The accusation retired determination was astir nonexistent to me,” she recalls.

Having started processing these symptoms astatine the property of 23, Vikki began searching for answers. Although determination are astir 3,300 caller cervical crab cases successful the UK each year, the mum-of-one recovered that getting a diagnosis wasn’t casual - peculiarly owed to her age.

“I went to the doctors and I got palmed disconnected with the information that I was excessively young to person a smear. I was astir told that it wouldn't beryllium cervical crab due to the fact that I was ‘too young’,” she says.

“On aggregate occasions I got sent to STI clinics adjacent though I’d been with my now-husband Scott for years. Every clip I was there, it was conscionable humiliating for maine due to the fact that it was astir similar they were accusing 1 of america of having an affair. Obviously those results came backmost negative.”

Still unsure astir what was down her symptoms, Vikki assumed that thing was incorrect and headed to Australia with her spouse Scott, conscionable however they’d planned. Despite having visions of settling down there, the brace returned to the UK successful their 2nd twelvemonth owed to an unwellness successful the household - a determination which gave Vikki, who’d turned 25 portion travelling, entree to the NHS cervical screening programme.

“We were doing our 2nd twelvemonth visa successful Australia and we lone came backmost due to the fact that his grandad got truly sick. Otherwise I deliberation that Australia would person been my location and I would person stayed there. I consciousness similar Scott’s grandad astir saved my beingness due to the fact that I don't deliberation we would person travel back,” she admits.

Having lived with her symptoms for 2 years, Vikki headed to her archetypal smear trial arsenic soon arsenic she could. However, conscionable days aft her assignment she received the quality that the trial had been inconclusive and a 2nd was required. Following a uncovering of abnormal cells, she rapidly underwent a colposcopy and MRI for further examination.

“Two days aboriginal I was sitting successful a 7:30am slot with my dada and sister arsenic good arsenic a advisor and a Macmillan nurse. That's erstwhile I was told that I had cervical cancer. I’d had each of these symptoms for 2 years but it took that agelong to beryllium heard. It was conscionable heartbreaking,” says Vikki, who was diagnosed with signifier 1A2 cervical cancer.

“I was successful utter shock. My sister was adjacent to maine and she kept rubbing my back. At the extremity of this full speech they asked if I had immoderate questions. I smiled and said I was bully - I don't deliberation I had absorbed what was said to me.

“It wasn't until I walked extracurricular and the caregiver came up to maine and gave maine a leaflet that said cervical crab connected the beforehand that it clicked. I went backmost location with my dada and I had to instrumentality the time disconnected work. I sat connected my dad's sofa each time and I conscionable cried. I didn't cognize what to expect. I didn’t cognize what the travel up was going to look like.”

Vikki was subsequently referred to The Royal Marsden wherever she had much checks earlier undergoing a process to region the bulk of her cervix arsenic good arsenic immoderate lymph nodes successful her stomach. The cognition was a occurrence and surgeons were capable to region each of the cancer, leaving Vikki with “warrior scars” astir her belly button.

Ahead of her five-year check-up successful 2020 Vikki held a socially distanced plot enactment wherever she raised implicit £2,000 for foundation and chopped 14 inches disconnected her hairsbreadth for the cause. But successful the aftermath of the milestone occasion, doctors discovered thing from 1 of her check-up tests.

“Because it was Covid, I could lone spell to the infirmary by myself truthful I got into a country with rather a fewer doctors and nurses. They were talking amongst themselves arsenic if thing was there, but they couldn't get to it. I retrieve they each near for maine to get dressed and I sobbed and sobbed truthful overmuch successful that room. I was terrified,” she explains.

“Then, conscionable earlier Christmas, they told maine that if it was cancer, I needed to hole myself for a hysterectomy. Thankfully they weren’t cancerous this time, but I was truthful traumatised that I ended up opting to person a preventative hysterectomy due to the fact that my intelligence wellness had truly been affected by the anticipation of a aboriginal occurrence.”

More than a decennary connected from her diagnosis, Vikki is utilizing her dependable to promote others to be their smear tests. With probe commissioned by The Lady Garden Foundation uncovering that 46% of women polled were intentionally putting disconnected important cervical screenings, she is keen to bash her spot to rise consciousness of the captious quality of specified tests.

“I'm stronger than ever. I look backmost astatine my 10 years and deliberation I'm truly beardown and I've travel a agelong way,” she explains. “My daughter’s lone 7 but she knows that mummy has been successful infirmary and she's been present erstwhile I've recovered from surgeries. I cognize afloat good that she's truthful arrogant of maine adjacent doing these and sharing my story.”

The probe besides recovered that embarrassment was the starring origin arsenic to wherefore screenings were being purposely skipped, with 1 successful 10 claiming they person enactment it disconnected owed to forgetting to wax oregon shave beforehand. However, for Vikki, it’s important that radical instrumentality up their smear trial erstwhile offered.

“I’m specified an advocator for everybody to person their smear. I cognize a batch of radical person truthful galore reasons for wherefore they don't go, whether it’s embarrassment oregon if they forgot oregon they don't person time.

“Even the different time I was messaging my friends and I encouraged 2 of them, who’d forgotten due to the fact that they person children, to publication theirs. Even if conscionable 1 idiosyncratic reads my communicative and thinks ‘I request to publication mine’ past I consciousness similar I’ve done my job.”

To assistance combat immoderate communal misconceptions astir cervical crab and to amended radical connected symptoms and prevention, The Lady Garden Foundation has created a ‘Don’t Beat Around the Bush’ myth-busting usher for women to download from their website