Quick smear test saved mum’s life
The 36-year-old mother of two was “harassed” by friends to get a smear test in 2012. Fortunately, she relented.
“It was after I had my second boy, a friend of mine had been harassing me to get my smear [test] done. I eventually made an appointment, not expecting anything, but I got a letter saying there was an abnormality and that I needed to get a biopsy done and then couple of weeks later I was called and told the result was high grade-three pre-cancerous.
“We were told that between six months and a year it would be full cancerous, you would have had to get chemo and everything. It was quite shocking, because I had two young kids,” she told the Irish Examiner.
Also, during the time between waiting for the results of her biopsy and possible treatment, Esther and her husband Gareth attended the funeral of a woman of the same age who died as a result of cervical cancer.
Following Esther’s biopsy results, she went for what is known as the “LLETZ procedure”.
“It burns all the cells. I was very grateful that my husband came with me for all the procedures, they numb you by injecting you around the area, you aren’t knocked out,” she said.
She had regular check-ups to make sure nothing had grown back and now she is back to the usual interval of three-year check-ups.
“The way I see it is, it’s literally two minutes of slight discomfort that will save your life. You’ve got peace of mind. I’d rather have what I went through rather than chemo, or worse, the removal of organs,” said Esther.
“So, if there is a problem you find out early enough so you can do something about it,” she added.
Esther’s husband is also outspoken about the need to get tested and attending the funeral of the young woman remains in his mind.
“What brought it home to me was the funeral. By not finding out early enough we were standing at a grave and looking over at a dad like me.
“These things, you can’t leave them unchecked. The whole family is involved. I still see this man every day dropping his kids to school living as a single parent,” said Gareth.
While speaking out as a man about women’s health would be uncomfortable for some, he said it should not be treated as a “dark secret”.
“It’s not something that should be shamed, it shouldn’t be a dark secret.
“I don’t go around talking about it to women, exactly, but if I’m with Esther and she’s talking about it, I’ve often echoed her thoughts,” said Gareth.
Yesterday marked the start of European Cervical Cancer Prevention Week, which runs until next Saturday.
The Pearl of Wisdom campaign was launched by broadcaster Maura Derrane, It is supported by the national screening programme CervicalCheck, and the Irish Family Planning Association.
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