So, it all began about 3 years ago now. I was working in a clothes shop and I felt the need to go to the toilet so I went and I noticed that my nickers were wet as if I'd wet myself, concerned I kept an eye on it and it happened again so I went to the shop and brought some sanitary towels to wear to catch the 'water'. Little did I know this was the start, this kept happening over a number of days then suddenly stopped.
It was a couple of weeks later it happened again but this time it was a discharge and it was thick and began to smell so again I would wear pads and change them regularly. This carried on and the discharge became worse and would smell horrible! I showered twice a day but I couldn't explain it! I was too embarrassed to go to the doctor so I dealt with it the only way a knew. I thought it would get better but it only got worse...thinking about it now the signs were there bleeding after intercourse but I thought it was just my period coming. As I had polysistic ovaries I didn't have a period regularly so thought this is what it was.
It was about a year later the pain started horrible pain like intense period pain....at this point the discharge had been on going for about a year. I still wasn't ready to face facts and would take pain killers to deal with the pain. One day at work I was in immense pain (double over pain) and I thought I was getting my period and I stood up to go to the loo and I felt something drop out of me so I went to the toilet to check.....this was the start of the worst 2 hours of my life! I had bled not just bled but I had a huge blood clot come out of me, I sat on the toilet and began to clean myself up but the blood and clots were coming out of me as if I was weeing! I only had a 15 minute break and I was due back but had run out of pads so had to run to tesco which is next to my work and I bright huge pads (like the ones you have after a baby) and a new pair of jeans as I had flooded and was covered in blood (this was 5 minutes after leaving the toilet at work) I then went to the toilet in tesco to clean myself up again and again it happened the blood and clots like before. 30 minutes after being on my break I went back work and apologised for being late. I thought that was it until I went on my dinner again I stood up and the dropping of something and again I went to the toilet. Only this time the bleeding and clots wouldn't stop, I was covered in blood my jeans were soaked down to my knees in blood and I couldn't control it 20 minutes later feeling very weak I asked to go home and burst out crying. As I lived in a pub I phoned my friend to explain I was coming home I got home and got straight in the shower and then the bleeding stopped as quickly as it had begun! I lay on the sofa with no energy and cried and cried until I fell asleep. The discharge came back and I had no bleeding again for a year.
At this point the pain was unbearable I was popping pain killers like candy 12+ high strength painkillers were taken and a hot water bottle was permanently attached to me. Then the bleeding began again in October 2014, I would have extreme pain then I would bleed like o had before for 20-30 minutes then nothing and the same again the next day and so on. Every now and then I would feel as though I was carrying a weight inside of me and I would feel it jiggling and I would wonder what it was.....things became so bad I couldn't take it anymore so I booked myself in for a smear (1st one at 27!), it took two nurses and a doctor and they couldn't do it as I began to bleed really heavily. Iwas traumatised and still am today I cry if they want to examine me now - as I had had a routine blood test I went home and cried.
Later that night I had a knock on the door, living alone I wasn't answering, then I had a note posted through it was an ambulance that had called so I called the number to see what was up, I was severely annemic and needed a blood transfusion that night. Thinking that they were wrong I casually went to doctors the next day and I was told my blood count was so low I needed a transfusion otherwise they couldn't help me...so I asked my sister to come to the hospital with me and I was examined again and it was mentioned that I had cancer as I had a large tumour but I needed a biopsy to confirm this. We cried, but at that point I was determined what ever it was it wasn't beating me.
I stayed in hospital and had my transfusion, 4 pints of blood, and then I had my biopsy and had to wait for scans which never happened (don't ask!). I was then finally told on 4th March the news that I had advanced cervical cancer, my sister was with me and she broke down crying and screaming and had to leave the room me? I didn't react just said ok, what next. I phoned my closest friends who all began to cry then I went to see my Nan and grandad and mum to tell them the news....this was the beginning of my journey
