A woman struck with advanced cervical cancer at the age of 25, at the age of 25, there was an end to attend every screening test – after she had postponed her smear because of fears fueled by ‘online horror stories’.
Jasmin McKee, now 26, from Southampton, started to suffer lower back pain and bleeding in 2023 in 2023, but assumed that it was due to her new appropriate copper coil.
The Operations Manager had also ‘postponed’ her cervical screening after reading fear stories that suggested that the procedure was painful.
But in March 2024 she finally picked the courage to attend the test that confirmed to her horror that she had the carcinogenic virus, Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
About 99 percent of all cervical cancers are caused by the HPV virus, which can be spread through sexual contact.
Doctors also discovered that Mrs. McKee had abnormal cell changes within her cervix, with a later biopsy that confirms the presence of cancer.
Further scans showed that the stage stage was three, which means that it had spread to nearby tissues.
According to Cancer Research UK, about 60 percent of the diagnosis at this stage will not survive for longer than five years.
Only four in ten of the diagnosis of cervical cancer at this stage live more than five years
“Everything just goes a bit numb … it’s just such a big shock,” she said about learning the devastating news.
“I didn’t want the people I love, the most sad to me. I just didn’t want them to worry. ‘
She immediately regretted postponing her screening test.
“It was nothing to worry about,” she said. ‘I was in and out within 10 minutes and for me it was painless.
‘[Cervical screening tests] Are not embarrassing, the nurses will do 20 a day, nobody doesn’t care.
“It’s so fast, it’s nothing to be afraid of and they can save your life.”
Mrs. McKee In November last year, surgery was to try to remove the tumor, but doctors could not fully destroy it – and it continued to grow.
In January of this year she started radiotherapy, five days a week for three weeks, and decided to tell her family about her diagnosis.
She assumed that bleeding after sex was the result of her contraceptive coil, which was recently mounted
Unfortunately, scans revealed that radiotherapy had not been effective and chemotherapy was needed, which she underwent in April.
She currently has eight rounds of chemotherapy every three weeks and is expected to end the treatment at the beginning of September 2025.
“As soon as I’m better, I will take every chance and get as much happiness as possible from life,” she said.
The story of Mrs. McKee comes in the same week that NHS England has announced that women with a low risk of 25-49 years in England are now invited to cervical screening every five years, in contrast to every three.
This change will bring cervical screening in England in line with Scotland, Wales and other European countries, and screening intervals tailored to those of women aged 50 to 64 years.
Those who test positive on HPV are more often invited for further checks.
The approach is based on evidence and expert recommendation of the UK National Screening Committee and is based on analysis of King’s College London with a screening of five years is just as safe as three annually, with the same number of cancers.
The NHS say that although the health service recognizes changes in cervical screening, ‘worry’, the New approach is based on robust scientific evidence and an expert recommendation from the UK National Screening Committee.
Symptoms of cervical cancer to pay attention are unusual vaginal bleeding, pain during sex and lower back or pelvic pain
NHS cervical screening data, which will go back to 2011, show that the recording that year was highest (75.7 percent) but has fallen over time
“The NHS Cervical Screening Program tests for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and uses a better and more accurate test than before,” said a spokesperson.
‘This means that if you test a negative test on HPV, you don’t have to be screened as often if your risk of developing cervical cancer is very low.
‘If you test a positive test on HPV, we will keep a close eye on you with additional tests and follow -up agreements.
“This personalized approach ensures that everyone receives the right level of screening based on their individual risk factors, which provides better protection and at the same time reduces unnecessary procedures.”
The NHS website says that everyone who is concerned about the symptoms of cervical cancer should see their doctor.
Typical signs include unusual vaginal bleeding – such as during or after sex, between periods or after menopause – pain during sex or in the lower back, pelvis and/or abdomen, and changes into vaginal discharge.
Research published last year showed that the British death rate among women of cervical cancer has fallen by 54 percent in the last 25 years.
Experts say that this is mainly due to the HPV vaccine, which is given to teenagers and reduces the risk of cervical cancer by 90 percent.
In 2023, NHS England announced a plan to ‘eliminate’ by 2040 cervical cancer, aimed at a prevalence of Among four per 100,000 people.
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