Cervical cancer: Test that saved young mum’s life

Emmeline Collins, mum-of-one was diagnosed with cervical cancer, which may have killed her had it not been picked up on a routine smear test. Now, just over a year later, the 33-year-old has had surgery to remove the cancer, which was caught early enough for her to have an excellent chance of a complete recovery.

Emmeline is a prime example of why cervical screening can be a life-saver, she said: “There was no way I knew there was anything wrong – I just went for a routine smear as if I was going to buy a pint of milk. I had no symptoms and no worries. If I’d ignored the screening letter and thought I didn’t need to go because there was nothing wrong with me, then goodness knows what would have happened.

“I had an invasive cancer growing inside me that I knew nothing about. If I hadn’t gone, worst case scenario is that I might not be here, or I could have left it so late that I might have had to have much worse treatment.”

For Emmeline it was picked up early and she underwent a trachelectomy, a relatively new treatment which is not yet widely available, which preserves a woman’s fertility. The surgery, which can be performed on some women who have very early invasive cervical cancer, involves removing the cervix and the lymph glands in the pelvic area, but leaving the womb in place.

Emmeline said: “I’ve been left with the opportunity of having another child, which I would have lost if I didn’t go for the screening.”

Emmeline’s doctor, gynaecological oncologist Robin Crawford, here at Cambridge University Hospitals, said: “Emmeline had her cancer detected before she had any symptoms and is able to consider a further pregnancy. You could call this a triumph for the screening programme.”