TEST COULD HAVE SAVED ME FROM CERVICAL CANCER AT 20
A young woman has told how she has been robbed of her fertility and now faces an uncertain future after she was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of just 22. Pretty Natalie Carney believes if she had been offered a smear test two years ago that she would not now be facing weeks of chemotherapy and radiotherapy plus an early menopause. Doctors missed several opportunities to diagnose Natalie's cancer and she was left suffering symptoms for months before the 3.5cm tumour was eventually found. Despite initially being hopeful the cancer could be removed through fertility-preserving surgery, she was later told she would need a radical hysterectomy, then chemo and radiotherapy that would rob her of the chance to bear children.She now faces a race against time to harvest her eggs before she begins treatment in the hope that she and her boyfriend of six months Adam Burton will someday be able to have a child.
Other great stories
CAMOUFLAGED NORTHERN POTOO BIRD IS A MASTER OF DISGUISE
A northern potoo shows it is a master of disguise as it perches on a tree stump and blends into the bark .
DERELICT MANSION
With an abandoned tricycle sitting in an empty corridor, this derelict but once grand mansion could be the setting for The Shining .
INTIMATE PORTRAITS OF AFRICAN TRIBES
A German photographer travelled around Africa where he met and photographed members of tribes in a series of intimate portraits .
INDONESIAN TRIBE UNTOUCHED BY MODERN LIFE
An Italian photographer travelled to the highlands of New Guinea where he met an Indonesian tribe untouched by the modern world .
POLAR BEAR STRETCHES
Raising his arms above his head and lying flat on his back, a polar bear stretches as he sprawls out across the ice .
SUNBATHING OTTER
A lazy otter finds the ideal spot to soak up the sun and sleep off his lunch .
BACKFLIPPING SHARK SOARS DURING SEAL HUNT
Exploding out of the water, a great white shark performs a backflip during a hunt for seals .
CALIFORNIAN GHOST TOWN OF BODIE HILLS FROZEN IN TIME
An intrepid photographer travelled to the abandoned ghost town of Bodie in northern California to capture the historic buildings that are trapped in time .
DOUBLE OR NOTHING: TWINS SPEND £150,000 TO LOOK IDENTICAL
TWIN SISTERS from Australia have taken their sisterly bond to the extreme by spending £150,000 to look IDENTICAL .
ADORABLE SQUIRRELS PREPARE FOR EASTER BREAK
Scurrying along the branch of a tree, a little squirrel pushes a pram packed full of Easter treats .
BENGAL TIGER PLANS ATTACK ON UNSUSPECTING DEER
SNEAKING slowly into the water, this Bengal tiger plans a vicious attack on three unsuspecting deer .
COUGAR: I FELL FOR MAN 18YRS MY JUNIOR BUT MY SONS DIDN'T COME TO OUR WEDDING
A woman has revealed how she left her husband of 24 years, after falling in love with a man, 18 years her junior .