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
CHEEKY CHIPMUNK

A chipmunk, with his cheeks full to bursting, has no intention of leaving with an empty stomach .

PELICANS RUFFLE EACH OTHER'S FEATHERS

THIS is the moment one irritated pelican nearly swallows the entire head of his unlucky competitor .

THE JUMP

High up in the mountains and thousands of feet off the ground, a party of climbers were in for a shock as they came face to face with this frightening leap of faith .

GIRL BEATS ANOREXIA AFTER MUM PLANS FUNERAL

A teenager has beaten anorexia after becoming so ill that her mum planned her funeral .

MONKEY WITH UNCANNY RESEMBLANCE TO MARVEL COMICS’ WOLVERINE

WITH his spiked ears and yellow and blue body, a colourful monkey bears an uncanny resemblance to Marvel Comics’ Wolverine .

FROG FRIENDS

PERCHED on a branch, these two frogs hold hands as they look into the camera .

EVIL MONSTER KILLED MY DAUGHTER OVER SECRET ABORTION

The mother of a young woman stabbed 26 times by her ex-partner for having a secret abortion has told how her daughter was cruelly betrayed by her own social worker .

BOXING DAY SQUIRRELS

BOXING DAY has come early for this pair of feisty squirrels, as their Christmas party quickly turns sour .

BRAVEHEART: BABY GIRL SURVIVES HEART SWELLING TO SIZE OF ORANGE

A baby girl has become the youngest British patient to receive a life-saving cardiac operation after her heart swelled to twice its normal size within days of her birth .

THE GREAT ESCAPE

Staring death in the face, a little field mouse bravely confronts a hungry cat .

HIDDEN HIMALAYAN FESTIVAL

A quiet Himalayan mountain village springs to life for a colourful Buddhist festival designed to expel evil spirits and bring happiness .