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
FOUR-YEAR-OLD TWIN BOY BELIEVES HE'S A GIRL
A mum from Gloucestershire has accepted her four-year-old twin son’s decision to live full time as a girl - and is now letting him wear a skirt to school .
CATERPILLAR AND MANTIS BATTLE IT OUT
A little caterpillar fearlessly scampers down a branch and confronts a praying mantis .
ADORABLE OWLS SHELTER FROM THE RAIN
HUDDLING under a leaf, a pair of adorable Javan scops owls take shelter from the rain .
BRITAIN'S MOST INSPIRING CALENDAR GIRLS
Forget One Direction and Cheryl Cole, a new calendar is celebrating Britain's real heroes - the nation's most inspiring mums .
ET PHONE THIS NUMBER: UK'S FIRST HOTLINE FOR ALIEN ABDUCTEES
The UK's first hotline - and possibly the galaxy's - for people who have been targeted by aliens has opened to the public .
HOUNDTON TABBY
FROM MRS Patmore to Lady Sybil, these barking mad illustrations show the WOOF-er side of some of our most loved Downton characters .
GIRL NICKNAMED JAWS BITES BACK AFTER SURGERY
A GIRL nicknamed JAWS by bullies who taunted her because of her underbite is em-bracing her new post-surgery life .
MY SLEEPING BEAUTY NIGHTMARE
MEET the real life sleeping beauty - who snoozed for TWO months when a rare sleep disorder took over her life and turned it into a nightmare .
OWLS ARE MASTERS OF DISGUISE IN INDIAN FOREST
HUDDLED together in the hollow of a tree, it would be easy to overlook these two sleepy owls as they blend into the trunk .
UNLIKELY PLAYMATES: BRAVE CHICKS PLAY WITH A PYTHON
A pair of chicks bravely decided to befriend a python, despite being the snake's favourite choice of food .
AN OTTER-ONE BITES THE DUST
Throwing a right hook as he launches onto his opponent with his gnarling teeth at the ready, this is the OTTER-LY ruthless showdown between two otters .