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Original poster

Oh my Goodness....poor Jade Goody :-(

96 replies

SobranieCocktail · 04/02/2009 08:16

Her cancer has spread.

OP posts:
electra · 04/02/2009 14:59

dreadful

CoteDAzur · 04/02/2009 18:58

mamadiva - Smear tests are not that horrible at all. Unpleasant, yes. But it last seconds and doesn't even hurt. Iirc, there are very few (any?) nerve endings on the cervix. I had a chunk cut out of mine and it didn't hurt afterwards. Please go to have a smear test.

noonki · 04/02/2009 19:18

I second cote - smears really don't hurt, they are a bit uncomfortable for about 20 seconds.

MaryAnnSingleton · 04/02/2009 19:21

v v sad

Meglet · 04/02/2009 19:32

mamadiva yes, please book a smear test! They're not exactly fun, but there are much worse things that can happen to you.

I had a close call with cervical cancer 4 years ago, had the worst results possible (CIN3) which are the last stage before cancer. I wasn't sexually active until 22, had had 2 boyfriends, regular smears, didn't smoke, went to the gym and I still had problems at 30.

Watching what poor Jade is going through is heartbreaking.

Ivykaty44 · 04/02/2009 19:33

I lost a school friend at exactly the same age, this is such a sad and terribly painful story. Knowing that you are not going to make it is so hard to deal with and I hope she finds the strength from soemwhere to cope with this and give her sons memoreis to cherish.

As for the smear, the nurse at my practice is so good I dont feel a thing.

Slightly worried as it is every three years in UK that they contact - unless they have seen adnormal cells. So should we be booking in before we receive letters to make an appointment??

Ewe · 04/02/2009 19:34

Have asked this elsewhere but killed the thread..

Why do you need to be mid cycle for a smear test? Anyone know?

I have booked mine for next Wednesday, after seeing this news this morning, when I am at the point in my cycle where I have 3 pills left until my break, probably about a week before my actual "period" though.

lou33 · 04/02/2009 19:36

my friend of 30 yrs old has been called back for more investigation into her abnormal smear test

lou33 · 04/02/2009 19:37

and my mother died from cervical cancer that metasasised into her spine

i wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy

Wilkiepedia · 04/02/2009 19:38

Victorian - I think it is dreadful that they don't start screening until 25. I had been sexually active for 10 years by 25!!!!!!! I demanded a smear at 21 and have had them three yearly since.

So so sad - that poor girl and her children

Meglet · 04/02/2009 19:40

ewe I guess that mid-cycle is probably best as I think the cevix may be a little more open so they can get a better smear. They may also prefer mid-cycle as period blood must make it more diffcult to get a decent swab.

Ewe · 04/02/2009 19:46

Thanks Meglet, that is fine then, wouldn't want to waste an appointment if it had to be specifically the middle of my cycle!

MARGOsBeenPlayingWithMyNooNoo · 04/02/2009 19:54

I've recently read about a woman who has cervical cancer and not very long to live.

When she was a student, she asked for a smear test 3 times only to be refused each time.

verygreenlawn · 04/02/2009 20:02

Can I just add one thing? When you've been for your test make sure you chase up the results.

My surgery used to have a policy of "if you don't hear anything it was normal". I gather this is quite common, but I'd urge you to always chase up a personal result. Don't really want to explain why as its not personal to me, but trust me - you need to get the result and not just hope it all goes away.

NancyAnnSeancy · 04/02/2009 20:06

I'm not sure what really happened with poor Jade. I've been reading about it today, and a lot of articles describe how she said she was too scared to go back after having letters about abnormal results. It said that she was traumatised by a painful smear when she was 16 and didn't want to go through the cell removal thing again

I don't know whether this is the true version of events and it doesn't really matter - although it would be worth HCPs making smear tests as pain free as possible if it helped encourage women to keep having them.

I feel so utterly sorry for her, poor poor girl and her poor babies

rubyslippers · 04/02/2009 20:07

it is very, very sad

NancyAnnSeancy · 04/02/2009 20:07

Lou - I am very sorry about your mum xx

AuntieMaggie · 04/02/2009 20:20

Jade had collapsed a few times over the past few years with different things (like the black tar stuff and here) but the doctors kept saying she was fine.

I think she was finally diagnosed with cancer after changing doctors.

KerryMumbles · 04/02/2009 20:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CoteDAzur · 04/02/2009 20:34

Am I the only one who remembers Jade Goody saying at the time that she received multiple letters calling her for an operation and ignoring them because she was scared?

NancyAnnSeancy · 04/02/2009 20:38

That's what I thought Cote - see below.

I guess it was a combination of events that led to the outcome she's facing now - horrible for her

I hope that doesn't sound as though I am ascribing blame. Most of us are scared of smears. I think the article I read said she had abnormal cells found before she was even sexually active, at 16 - and it hurt so much having them removed, she was terrified to go through it again. I can understand that.

Guadalupe · 04/02/2009 20:45

You're not the only one, no, Cote. I remember thinking at the time, why oh why would you ignore letters if it's something that can kill you. I hadn't long had my own hysterectomy when it was on the news and couldn't get in there quick enough.

I appreciate everyone deals with scary things in diferent ways but I couldn't understand it.

lou33 · 04/02/2009 20:51

thank you nancy, it is coming up for 10 years now

CoteDAzur · 04/02/2009 20:57

I remember reading that "abnormal cells found on my cervix when I was a virgin" and going . How on earth were they supposed to "find" such a thing, except by smear, and who would do a smear test on a virgin.

Either bad reporting or a little white lie, I thought.

Original poster
SobranieCocktail · 04/02/2009 21:02

Isn't it possible she had some symptoms (e.g. bleeding between periods) which prompted an inspection down below?

OP posts: