Vikki’s journey
“I think over the years, I’ve become more comfortable with what’s happened and with sharing my experiences and I really want to raise awareness of cervical cancer by encouraging others to get checked out”
I was around 23 years old and had 3 out of the 4 main symptoms of cervical cancer – which at the time, I really wasn’t aware of. My symptoms were: pain during intercourse, irregular discharge and lower back pain. The only one I didn’t have was irregular bleeding – which is why I think my other symptoms were ignored. I went for numerous doctors’ appointments but was told my symptoms could have been down to having an STI. At the time I was in a long term relationship; I’m still with that person now 13 years on!
I got pushed out of the door every time and ended up just ignoring it and going travelling - I thought everything was fine. When I got back home to the UK, I’d just turned 25 years old – so I was the legal age to have my first smear test.
The results from my first smear test came back inconclusive so I went back just before Christmas to have a second one. The second one came back as showing abnormal cells.
In March 2015 I had a colposcopy and a biopsy of my cervix. Within a couple of days I was called into my local hospital (in Eastbourne) to discuss the results. I walked into the room and there was a Macmillan nurse sat on the bed. This is when I was told I had cervical cancer.
I was with my sister and my dad and just went completely silent, I was totally washed out and didn’t feel like I could fully comprehend what the hospital were saying to me. I didn’t understand. All I remember was the doctor telling me that they were sending me to The Royal Marsden in London.
I had some check ups and more scans including an MRI. When I was told I needed to have surgery, I think I just shut off, I was in utter shock the whole time. When you’re told you have cancer, it’s easier to talk to other people who are going through the same experiences as you feel like everyone else is falling apart around you at the news – you feel like you need to stay strong for them. Mentally, I had the odd cry here and then but actually I just got on with it. It’s almost like an instinct in your body that you have to fight this, you don’t have a choice.
Being only 25 years old, they told me that after the surgery, I might have difficulty carrying a child as they were removing most of my cervix - this was something I was really worried about. This was the only thing which really stuck with me, that I felt quite broken about, as I knew I wanted children. That was more upsetting to me than the cancer diagnosis itself.
On June 12th, 2015, I had an operation at The Royal Marsden to remove the cancer. It was caught very early and I was very lucky – but at the same time, I think it was probably there 18 months before my actual diagnosis, when I’d been going back and forth to the GPs about my symptoms. Perhaps it would have been caught even earlier if I’d been listened to.
I’ve been under the care of Ms Marielle Nobbenhuis since I first came to The Royal Marsden, she did my surgery.
During the surgery they also had to remove some lymph nodes from my stomach which triggered the large nerve which runs down to your leg. From that, I’ve suffered with nerve damage in my thigh and I had to have two nerve blocks within six months of the operation to try and help the pain. Even now, all these years on, I still have to take pain relief every night for my legs. It’s one of those things – that I’m so lucky it was caught so early but it has still left me with long lasting side effects. I think I’m used to the pain now and I always tell myself how lucky and grateful I am that I had a positive outcome with the cancer being removed. I don’t like to cause a big fuss as I know how busy all the doctors and nurses are these days.
I remember waking up from my surgery and being in tears. I was on a ward with women who all seemed so much older than me. I felt like they were all looking at me like I shouldn’t be there, as I was so young. It was really hard and I struggled a lot in my post-surgery recovery.
After the surgery, I was told I’d remain under The Royal Marsden’s care for the next five years for monitoring. I went back and forth for MRI scans in Sutton and smear tests and more monitoring in Chelsea. I had very regular check-ups initially which, as the results remained clear, then moved to every six months.
At my four-year check-up, the MRI scan came back clear, so my monitoring moved again to yearly.
A few years passed since my cancer diagnosis and surgery and in 2017 I had my daughter Florence. Whilst I was 8-9 weeks pregnant, I had a sucher procedure at another hospital. I had, what was remaining of my cervix, sown up during this procedure. The medical team there told me the sucher should hold for the duration of my pregnancy and if it didn’t…then it wasn’t meant to be. I was at high risk of losing my baby up until I was 28 weeks pregnant; I didn’t enjoy my pregnancy at all, I couldn’t settle and was so worried. What blew my mind is that I was able to even get pregnant in the first place and also that my cancer surgery date was the 12th June 2015 and my due date for my daughter was the 12th June 2017…!
When I was told my due date, I thought this must be a positive sign – she was my miracle baby. She came a few days earlier – on the 7th June. I’d had the sucher removed by this point and was able to have a normal, natural labour and everything was fine – I felt so lucky.
In June/July time in 2020, I was approaching my five year ‘all clear’ milestone. I threw a garden party and my hairdresser cut 14 inches off my hair off to raise money for Charity – I raised over £2,000. I felt really positive about my five year check-up and assumed I would be discharged from the hospital after this.
Unfortunately, at my five-year scan, I was called back to the hospital a few days later for the results as they’d found something suspicious. As this was during COVID times, I wasn’t allowed to take anyone with me, it was really tough having to go through this on my own and especially as it felt like I wasn’t just fighting for myself this time – I was also fighting for my daughter, Florence. I kept thinking if it was something really bad this time, would my daughter be at risk of losing her mum. Every emotion went through me when I was waiting to be told what was happening, I cried so much this time round.
I had so many MRIs, swabs and smears as the suspicious mass was really hidden in my cervix and difficult to get to for tests. I was told that they were going to do a watch and wait and I continued to have 3 monthly scans – by that point, a second mass had appeared on my cervix. So I had two growths at this point and no one knew what they were but they needed to come out.
Before Christmas 2020, the medical teams told me that I needed to have these growths removed and worst-case scenario – I might need a hysterectomy depending on what they find during the surgery. I prepared myself for the worst.
In March 2021, I had surgery to remove both the growths on my cervix. Thankfully this time – the growths weren’t cancerous. I was mentally exhausted by this point and actually asked to have the hysterectomy anyway as a preventative measure for the future.
In October 2021, I had a hysterectomy at The Royal Marsden. That was done robotically and there were trainee surgery staff who were present during my procedure to learn about the robotic surgery process. When I walked into the theatre and saw the robot – it was mind blowing!
After my March operation to remove the two growths on my cervix – I was in absolute agony and had to stay in hospital as an inpatient for three days afterwards. I had trapped gas in my shoulders and in my chest and it was excruciating. However, when I had the robotic surgery done for my hysterectomy – I was up on my feet within a week, there was hardly any pain post-surgery at all. I felt fine, fit as a fiddle! It’s amazing how different things can be with a robot – how delicate this surgery was. I was blown away by how quickly I recovered from that surgery.
I count my lucky stars being under The Royal Marsden. After my surgery in March 2021, I was told I’d be under their care for another five years which I don’t mind at all! I have gone back to having regular checkups, scans and monitoring. I feel very grateful and lucky to be under the care of such an amazing hospital. I know that I'd be getting the very best treatment and care. My recent MRI scans remain clear which is amazing.
I love spending time with my family and going on holiday together. Our next trip is booked to Turkey for summer, which we are all very excited for. We have recently purchased our first house which is a big renovation project and I’ve just started a new job. Throw in having a 7 month old puppy called Hugo, we have a lot going on but life is good and I'm now in a really good place. I know that I'm in the best care with The Royal Marsden though so this is reassuring.
I put a video about my story on Facebook as I want to raise awareness of cervical cancer and want to ensure that women know how important it is to go for their smear test. When women are pregnant, you can’t have a smear test during this time and often they forget – once the baby has been born – to book back in for these regular checks. I really want to encourage people to listen to their bodies, I knew that something was wrong all those years ago with mine.