Kerry’s message

Cancer!!! the word that sends shudders down your spine. My niece Kerry tells her story below. To help her raise awareness I have offered to run Endure 24 in July and I aim to run twice as far as I have ever done, 60 miles in 24 hours. The more we raise the more we can encourage people to take a smear test.

In March of this year, I went for my routine smear test, a week later i received my results letter .... telling me I had tested positive for HPV and had abnormal cells, naturally my heart started to race!!

A week later I went in for a colposcopy, a painless procedure, to analyse the cells further, I was naturally anxious, but honestly thought that at worst I would need some laser treatment, I had heard that was fairly common. Anither week passed and that’s when I received the call, telling me that the cells had in fact turned cancerous...I had cervical cancer!

Now don’t panic, I am fine!

I have since had an small operation (LLETZ) to remove the cancerous area, which was found to be very small, and a further two weeks later it was confirmed that I was extremely lucky, and I had the earliest stage possible, stage 1a, and that they had successfully removed all of the cancer.

I will now undergo a hysterectomy to prevent the nasties returning!

I am not sharing this for ANY sympathy, I actually feel like a bit of a fraud, knowing what cancer means to so many people, and the hideous treatment they have to undergo, BUT, I want you to know, that I had not a single symptom, it was purely that I had my ROUTINE smear that detected it. That is why you MUST, MUST, MUST make sure you are up to date and go for yours when you are called up. No delaying, no excuses!

I can’t tell you how lucky and grateful I feel!

I’d you can spare a little (or a lot!), please consider donating to Jo’s Trust. They are spreading the word, and encouraging women to have their cervical screening on time....which quite literally does save lives!

Thank youDo you want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money in aid of Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust and every donation will help. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to Kerry.

More information about Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust: Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust is the only UK charity dedicated to women affected by cervical cancer and cervical abnormalities. We offer information, support and friendship to women of all ages 24 hours a day to ensure they never feel alone on their journey. We provide comprehensive, easy to understand information and also help women get in contact with each other and share stories and tips on how to make it through some of the tough times.