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TDC
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Hello, I am a 42yr old wife nd mum to two teenage boys. I was told yesterday by my GP that I have been urgently referred to a cancer clinic for further testing. My symptoms are, bleeding, discharge, lower back pain, intense pelvic ache and intermittent sharp pains, fatigue and dizziness. I already have heart disease and arrythmia so am concerned about how my body will cope with treatment if it is required? I feel sick and lost. Any advice or information would be very gratefully received.

Just received my referral for Tuesday 15th Oct, which states 'Suspected Cervical Cancer'. 

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    Hello TDC, and welcome to the forum.

    I was diagnosed with cervical cancer a year ago so I have some knowledge of the tests and procedures which are carried out to determine if you do have the disease, although I have no knowledge of your heart conditions so don’t know how these conditions might affect you if you need treatment. 

    At the moment you are at a difficult point waiting for tests...this is really hard when we don’t know what’s going on inside our own bodies and it’s easy to let your mind run away with all sorts of negative thoughts. My advice would be to stay away from dr google, which is notoriously scary and unreliable, and stick with reputable sites like this for information and advice. 

    It is likely that the gynaecologist will give you a thorough examination to determine the next steps. You may have a hysteroscopy, which is a camera to look inside your womb, and you may have biopsies taken if any abnormalities are seen. I had both of these procedures done at my first appointment-which didn’t hurt for me at all-but I did ask the doctor to do as much as he could at that appointment so I could get answers quickly. It may be different at your appointment.

    It seems like an eternity waiting for your appointment, and I won’t say not to worry because worrying is only natural..but try not to let the worry get too much. Keep busy and concentrate on other things as much as you can. I found relaxation techniques useful, and mindfulness, via a free app called Headspace on my phone.

    There is a huge amout of support from others here who are going through exactly the same feelings and emotions as you and it can be an enormous help to chat. Things don’t seem so scary when you realise you are not alone. Please come back and chat if you’d like to...this is a safe place to say whatever you need to, and if I can help at all please just ask. xx

  • Offline in reply to Minska

    Thank you so much for your reply Minska. I am keeping myself as busy as possible because I don't want to sit and over think things. I am an emergency responder, so I am used to putting things into perspective and mending things, not sitting on the fence and being ultra patient while I wait for others to do this for me! It's frustrating because I just want to know!? My symptoms are getting very uncomfortable, I am now taking pain relief regularly so it's hard to put it out if my mind for too long as I tend to double up with pelvic pain fairly regularly and I feel so exhausted that every day activities are such a challenge. Thank you for listening. I hope you are doing well?

    Kind regards Tara 

  • Offline in reply to TDC

    Hi Tara

    By the time I got to my first appointment I was on 8 painkillers a day..just counting the time till I could take more. Ibuprofen wasn’t an option as it interacted with my anxiety medication and I was already bleeding quite a lot so I just had paracetamol. I remember the doubling up with pain too. 

    Waiting it out is really tough...I just wanted to get on with things too. I was diagnosed with stage 2b cervical cancer, so too advanced for surgery. I did chemo and radiation, finished at Christmas and my 3 month scan was clear-no evidence of disease. I’m feeling much better now and have another check up on Tuesday. Happy to chat any time and help out if I can-I know exactly what all this feels like. xx

  • Offline in reply to Minska

    Wow you have had a tough journey. I am so glad to hear you have positive news and it is reassuring to hear that you are doing well despite it being advanced. Thank you again. Take care and good luck for Tuesday xx

  • Offline in reply to TDC

    Thanks so much...it’s tough for us all but strength comes from somewhere to do this. It’s amazing what you can go through to get rid of this disease. At the moment you don’t know what’s wrong, but if it is cancer, the treatment can be very effective. My cancer was what was called “locally advanced” which means it was contained in my cervix and hadn’t spread. But it was enough to make sure I couldn’t have a radical hysterectomy. However, the standard treatment for stage 2 and above is chemo radiation and it is a good protocol. xx

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