Lanarkshire woman tells how cervical cancer robbed her of her fertility in her 20s

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A Lanarkshire cervical cancer survivor has issued a stark message for young women to get your regular smear tests.Nicole Crossan was halfway through her orthodontic therapy diploma course at the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh in October 2019 when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer.And in a frank and emotional testimony, she told Lanarkshire Live how she grieved for her fertility at the age of 28.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android Helping to mark Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, she told us: “My story might be different to some."I started having smear tests at the age of 21 and was among the first to be offered the HPV vaccine when I was younger.“I’m lucky, because my mum said to all her girls that a smear test was a really important appointment to attend.

She had drummed it into us, because she had a history of needing treatment for pre-cancerous cells. "We were brought up to know that you just go and get it done.”Nicole was 22 when cervical screening first detected cell changes, for which she had cold coagulation treatment to destroy the abnormal cells.Following another abnormal result in 2019, she had a biopsy and underwent large loop excision of the transformation zone (LLETZ) treatment – a type of surgery that removes a small part of the cervix.Two weeks later came the diagnosis of