These forums are so helpful and I am so happy to have found them while I navigate this terrible disease. I have been reading for a while and finally decided to join. Reading through others' experiences brings so much hope and support.
I am 34. I had clear smear in Sept 2020, but by May of 2021, I was experiencing irregular bleeding. I was referred for a bunch of tests before I had another smear which threw up some red flags. I had my LEEP in March of 2022 and got my diagnosis on April 25, 2022 stage 1. I had 4 MRIs and a CT scan prior to securing a referral appointment to the cancer centre in June 2022. All of those tests came back showing microscopic cancer, no spread, no lymph involvement. They scheduled me for a radical trachelectomy at that appointment and did a physical exam. The doctor was curious about some thickening he felt during the exam and sent me for another MRI. The Sunday before my scheduled trachelectomy, I received a call from the doctor - stage 2b, local spread to the peremetrium and they could no longer operate. A few weeks later, I finally secured an appointment with the radiation oncologist to go through a plan. I FINALLY will be starting treatment on Thursday this week. Oddly enough, I am looking forward to treatment starting. I am sure I am being overly confident and those drugs will humble me very quickly, but it has been such a long road to this point - over a year of worry.
Best wishes to all!
Hi SRozy3 and welcome to our group!
It must have been a real blow to expect surgery and then find out the stage was higher-what a shock for you. I was also stage 2b and a few of us in the group were diagnosed with this stage so have experience of the chemoradiation treatment.
I think all of us would say we were happy when a plan was put in place and we could get started with the treatment. After all the waiting it’s good to know things are moving.
Try not to anticipate issues with the treatment-some ladies sail through with little or no side effects at all, and chemotherapy is a low dose to enhance the radiation so is not as bad as you may imagine-it didn’t give me problems.
Radiotherapy made me very tired and I had some bladder and bowel issues from 3 weeks in, but they cleared up soon after treatment ended. The important thing is to let your team know of any side effects from either treatment and they will have something to help.
We have a lovely group of supportive ladies here so hopefully some will be along soon to share their stories. Please let us know how you are getting on and we can help with advice and support from our own experiences.
You are very welcome to be with us and I hope you’ll find it helpful. No question is too silly or too much information-we talk about all sorts here, and it’s a safe place to discuss any worries or just chat.
Sarah xx
Hi there SarahH21
It was a bit shocking when they cancelled surgery, but moreover that they missed a 5cm tumor in 4 other MRIs and a CT scan prior to that. They say they missed it, but I can't help to think it grew quickly, especially if they were actively looking at the affected area in the imaging. I guess I will never know! 
Just trying to keep a positive mind going into this. I have had a lot of time to think about it since March and I am ready.
Thank you such for the warm welcome and I am so glad to have this community around while I go through this.
Take care!
Hi Angela,
The waiting is horrendous, isn't it? I feel that each day that passes is equivalent to a week! I'm just eager to get on with it at this point.
I have put together a small birthday party for my mom at the end of my first week of treatment, so I really hope that if any side effects do hit me, it's not that first week 
. I feel like I need to be living as normally as possible, given the circumstances. I will take it a day at a time.
Our treatment plans are the same. So far they only gave me one of my chemo appointments, but I assume they will occur every Thursday for the next 5 weeks.
Thanks for the warm welcome! I hope you're doing well!
Hi SRozy3
The waiting is awful and there’s a lot of it to begin with unfortunately, but once treatment starts it all moves along quite quickly.
You have the standard treatment plan for stage 2b, and normally any side effects usually kick in as treatment progresses rather than at the start, so hopefully you will be fine for the birthday party. You normally have chemo on the same day each week.
Taking things a day at a time was good for me, as was crossing off each treatment day so I could see my progress. Please keep in touch and let us know how you’re getting on.
Sarah xx
