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
UNUSUAL ANIMAL FRIENDSHIP
SAT happily on the branch of a tree, this little frog appears unfazed by a surprise visitor .
SNEAKY OTTER
A young otter wades through a lake with his eyes set on an older rival’s fish .
THE LITTLE MER-WIFE: DISNEY-THEMED WEDDING CREATES A SPLASH
It’s the must-have for any true Disney fan: a Little Mermaid themed wedding .
GLACIER ICE CLIMBING
COURAGEOUS climbers descend 400 metres as they manoeuvre their way through thick walls of ice .
SHIVERING SQUIRREL
THIS LITTLE squirrel tries to keep himself snug as snow starts to fall around him .
BRITISH COUPLE FIRST TO TIE THE KNOT INSIDE A GLACIER
A BRITISH couple are the first to tie the knot inside an enormous GLACIER in Iceland .
BRAVE TOT ALLERGIC TO SUN
HOTSPOT MEDIA - BRAVE TOT ALLERGIC TO SUN: Leighton Brownrigg, 2 .
COSPLAY COUPLE FIND LOVE THROUGH GAME OF THRONES OBSESSION
A Game of Thrones obsessed couple have fallen in love after meeting at a comic convention dressed as lovestruck characters Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drago .
CARE HOME STAFF ALLOWED BOY TO DIE BECAUSE OF HEALTH AND SAFETY FEARS
The family of a disabled boy who died in a tragic accident at a care home have received a four figure payout after an inquest heard carers allowed him to fall rather than restrain him because of "health and safety" fears .
ABANDONED WILD WEST THEME PARK
The gunslingers are long gone and tumbleweeds have taken over at this abandoned American Wild West Theme Park in Cornwall .
BRAVE LEOPARD BEFRIENDS A CROC
A brave leopard kicks back and relaxes in the sunshine - just inches from an enormous crocodile .
BOSTON MARATHON PICTURES
T least three people have been killed and more than 100 injured, some seriously, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon .