A mum, 31, has shared her heartbreak after being diagnosed with cervical cancer in the hope of stopping other women from missing smear tests.
Mum-of-four Kim Montgomery, who had failed to have the routine test for 10 years, learnt she had the disease earlier this month, the Daily Record reports.
Next week she will learn how advanced her cancer is – and is worried sick her children Dylan, 11, Lacey, six, Kayla, five, and three-year-old Macaulay may be left without a mummy.
“If I had just gone for my regular smear tests they may have caught it while it was still developing and I might not be sitting here worrying if I am going to die and leave my young children behind," Kim says.
The young Scottish mum had her first smear test at the age of 21, which came back clear.
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However, women between the ages of 25 and 49 are supposed to have the screening three years – and she admits that she ignored NHS letters inviting her for follow-ups because "it is not the most pleasant thing".
“It was stupidity. I was naive. I just never thought I would get cancer, especially at such a young age," she continued.
“It is not the most pleasant thing in the world to go for a smear and I just wasn’t keen to rush back for one but it is only five minutes and it could save your life.
“If I had read a story like mine I would have gone for a smear test – that’s why I am trying to reach out to people.
"I put something about it on Facebook, advising people to go for tests, and so many women have messaged me saying thanks for sharing my story and that they were going to book in for one after reading what happened to me.”
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Kim eventually sought medical help after she suffered abnormal bleeding for nine months.
“I had abnormal bleeding for about nine months; I was bleeding pretty much daily. I knew there was something not right," she said.
“I went for a smear test, which was the first I’d had in 10 years, before Christmas. It came back that there were abnormal cells so I had to go into Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline for a biopsy.
“I got my diagnosis 11 days later on February 5.
“The doctor called me into hospital and said ‘I am not going to beat around the bush, I am going to tell you that you have cervical cancer.
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“I can’t explain how that felt. As soon as I heard the word ‘cancer’ I didn’t hear anything else. I automatically thought ‘I am going to die. The children are going to be left without me’.
“It is just as well my partner Dane Paton was with me because I was in such a state of shock. I was numb. It was surreal.
“The doctor hopes it is stage 2 but I won’t know for definite until I get an MRI scan next week when we will see whether it has spread or not.”
Kim hopes a hysterectomy and courses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy will be able to treat the disease and says she will fight it with everything she has.
“I’m absolutely terrified in case this doesn’t end well for me.
"The thought of cancer beating me and me leaving my children behind breaks my heart. I am desperate to kill this cancer before it kills me.”
Although she has tried to shield her three younger chilren from her diagnosis, her elder son has asked her: “Is my mummy going to die?”
“We’ve told him there is a lot doctors can do but we are not telling the wee ones unless it is terminal. They are not old enough to understand cancer,” she says.
But she is adamant that when her two daughters are old enough, she will be drumming home the message of smear testing.
Kim is also thankful that with the introduction of HPV immunisations for young girls, the chances of her daughters developing cervical cancer will reduce.
“I wish they had that when I was growing up but I am grateful for it for my daughters,” she added.
Determined to spend more time with her children, she is now trying to raise funds to pay for alternative CBD oil, a cannabis based alternative medicine, after reading it has been proven to shrink or even clear cancer.
Kim said: “After a lot of research I’ve read that it has prolonged cancer patients’ lives. And that’s all I want, that’s what I’m desperate for – to live as long as I can for my kids.”
Robert Music, Chief Executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, says that Kim is not alone and that over 1 in 4 UK women do not take up invitations to smear tests – despite the quick procedure saving thousands of lives a year.
“While cervical screening is very important, we know that it’s not always easy to attend a test and there can be many barriers which make it difficult," he said.
"However, cervical screening provides the best protection against cervical cancer and so it’s important we support those who find it hard to attend, make sure women are aware of the importance of the test, make it as easy and straightforward as possible for women to have the test if they choose to do so."
To donate to Kim’s fundraiser click here.
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