Politics
I went from my dream wedding to being diagnosed with cancer and having a hysterectomy in 12 months
HAVING just tied the knot, enjoyed an incredible honeymoon and a stint in New York with work, newlywed Sheryl Findlay-Gardiner was on cloud nine.
But within months the 32-year-old’s dream came crashing down.
Sheryl Findlay-Gardiner pictured with her husband Stewart on their wedding day[/caption]
After attending a routine smear test, Sheryl was diagnosed with cervical cancer.
But in her bid to survive, she had to sacrifice her hope of one day carrying her own baby.
After having a hysterectomy last year, Sheryl is now urging other women to make sure they attend their smear tests as she credits the test with saving her life.
It comes as experts warn one in three women are at risk after missing their cervical cancer screening due to lockdown.
As with many cancers, catching cervical cancer in its earliest stages saves lives.
Catch it at stage one – like Sheryl did – and more than 95 per cent of women will survive for five years or more.
But catch it at stage four when the cancer has spread and that plummets to just 15 per cent.
Smear tests, while not a test to diagnose cancer, can pick up the earliest changes in cells that run the risk of developing into cancer.
Sheryl, now 34 and a marketing strategist from South Lanarkshire, Scotland, told The Sun 2019 harboured some of the worst moments of her life just six months after some of the happiest.
“We had just got married and still had cards that had messages telling us how exciting this new chapter was for us,” she said.
“I had to go from that to having to fight for my life.”
The 34-year-old is now urging other women to get their smear tests[/caption]
After tying the knot with her husband Stewart, the pair flew to St Lucia for their honeymoon.
When they got home, Sheryl was whisked off to the Big Apple with work before coming home to see the Spice Girls live on their reunion tour.
She was booked in for her smear in August 2019, and when the results came back abnormal she was sent for a colposcopy in October.
Sheryl said: “That smear test saved my life.
“The colposcopy had started and everything was going fine and there was no mention of oncology.
“But time ticked on and I felt the tension in the room shift.
“To begin with people had been chatting away and as it went on longer than I expected, they felt silent and I felt the mood shift.”
Doctors warned Sheryl that it could be cancerous and that they were extremely concerned about their findings and wanted to book her in for treatment.
Sherly said: “These moments are the worst moments of my life and have had huge consequences for me and my family.”
Sheryl said she didn’t have any of the key symptoms of cervical cancer such as bleeding or pain after sex, but remembers not feeling herself in the months leading up to her diagnosis.
“Looking back I felt sick around that time, obviously everyone thought we were pregnant being newlyweds,” she said.
Sheryl, pictured on her wedding day, said when she started to feel unwell, many people thought she could be pregnant as she was a newly wed[/caption]
“I didn’t feel there had been anything of note, but we were at a friend’s wedding and I just didn’t feel right.
“We also had a weekend away in August and I had left dinner to go home early to bed, in hindsight, I wasn’t feeling my best self,” she said.
Ten days after her colposcopy, doctors called Sheryl and told her they would have to remove the tumour by undertaking a procedure called Loop.
The treatment usually lasted around twenty minutes, but for Sheryl it lasted two hours.
She said: “They took as much out as they could and it was sent for testing.
“On November 28 they told me the cells were cancerous.”
What is cervical cancer and what signs do you need to look out for?
EVERY year around 3,000 cases of cervical cancer are reported in the UK alone.
The coronavirus pandemic has meant that many women have missed their cervical screening appointments due to fears around the virus.
Cervical cancer is a cancer of the cervix.
Here are the eight symptoms to look out for:
- Abnormal bleeding
- Vaginal discharge
- Blood in your urine
- A change in your bowel movements
- Bloating
- Pain during sex
- Lower back pain
- Unintended weight loss
If you experience any of these (do not wait for all of them to appear, just one is enough!), then make an appointment to talk to your GP immediately.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve had a recent smear test or not – or if you’re under 25 and haven’t been offered one yet. Although it’s rare, cervical cancer can strike earlier.
Sheryl said the hardest thing was the ripple effect her diagnosis had on others around her[/caption]
At the time Sheryl had been at home on her own and her first reaction, she says, was to make sure she kept breathing.
She immediately called her parents and told them it wasn’t good news.
“It was an out of body experience, the worst terror I have ever felt in my life,” she told The Sun.
“I had written down notes while I had been on the phone and it was the same book I’d used to write my wedding notes in.
“I thought it would either be something small or the sort of cancer that you see in the films.”
RIPPLE EFFECT
One thing that shocked Sheryl, she said, was the ripple effect her diagnosis had on others around her.
She said: “I’m not even the worst case scenario and this is why I feel so passionately.
“There are people and families who have experienced far worse than I have.
“It doesn’t always mean you will lose your hair, it’s not always a death sentence, cancer doesn’t have to be what you think.”
But while she tried to remain positive about her situation, on December 23 Sheryl received a call that would change her life forever.
Sheryl had tried to remain positive about her situation and had researched treatments and other people who had been through the same thing[/caption]
When she was told she would need a hysterectomy, Sheryl hadn’t expected it[/caption]
She said her mum had been helping her get into the festive spirit, writing cards and wrapping presents, but had popped to the shops when the hospital called.
“They said, positive news, the cancer hasn’t spread any further, but we will have to start a treatment plan for a hysterectomy.
“I hadn’t expected it, and whilst the news could have been worse, I was devastated. I hadn’t prepared myself for an inbetween.”
DEVASTATING NEWS
Sheryl’s mum soon arrived home from the shops and she gave her the news that she would have to have a hysterectomy.
“All of a sudden everyone was in my living room. They were all devastated and I was just trying to process it.
“I was in denial and thought I’d be able to work through the problem. It was hard to witness their grief,” Sheryl said.
“We had wanted to have kids, that had been in the plan.
“Being newlyweds we were ready to start trying. Both my sisters have kids and I was excited to finally start my family.”
It was then Sheryl said she went into fight mode, she did all her research and looked up alternative treatments she had and started to connect with other people who had been through the same as her.
“I went to hospital on December 24 and they told me that the tumour was 2cm and that while they thought they had got all of it out during the Loop treatment, they can’t see microscopic cells and so there are no guarantees.
“The safest option was for me to have a hysterectomy, the fact was if I went for a lesser treatment there was a one in four chance that the cancer would come back.
“I had to just fight one fight at a time and decouple having cancer from being able to have kids.”
Unfortunately for Sheryl, the hysterectomy had to be open surgery and on February 29 2020 she had a hysterectomy.
After the surgery Sheryl said she felt as though she had her life back[/caption]
She said: “I was terrified but you build up the bravery. I was taking control of my body.
“This was the bit that mattered and suddenly it didn’t matter how many calories or smoothies I drank – this was the big one.
“I cried a lot and when the operation was over, my dad said it was the first time I seemed like myself again, I felt like I had reclaimed my life by having the surgery.”
Sherly had her procedure just a month before the UK went into its first national lockdown and in order to protect herself, she said she started to isolate as soon as the government introduced social distancing as a concept.
Even though her family only live down the road, Sheryl has only seen them a few times since last year and says she is trying to find her way back to them.
She now has to meet with her oncologist every few months to check everything is going smoothly, and luckily, they have now told Sheryl that they won’t need to see her again until September, which she says is “massively reassuring”.
Sheryl is now looking into surrogacy options and said she is ready for the next chapter of her life to start “whatever that may be”.
Sheryl and Stewart are now looking into surrogacy options so they can have a family of their own[/caption]
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She is also enjoying running and last year ran her very first 5k for Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life.
She added: “I’ll have to go to hospital every few months for the next three years. My surgery gave me a 97 per cent chance of the cancer never returning.”
“Thank god I bit the bullet, there are still wounds to heal that aren’t physical, I’ve missed my family like crazy – we all need our loved ones around us.”
Sheryl is supporting Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life at Home, in partnership with Tesco. Run, walk or jog 5k wherever you are this April and raise money for life-saving cancer research. Sign up at raceforlife.org
