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.

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