Newlywed cervical cancer survivor urges women to vote for 'the forgotten'

A newlywed who underwent a full hysterectomy after regular smear tests failed to pick up the presence of advanced cervical cancer, was sent a reminder by Cervical Check to go for another exam.

Stacie Smith received the reminder despite telling Cervical Check of her advanced cancer diagnosis 18 months ago.

The 36-year-old, who can never have children, went to a consultant after bleeding heavily on her wedding day.

Stacie, who lives in Blanchardstown in Dublin, is now calling on all the women in Ireland to help each other by making their vote count, claiming that those affected by the Cervical Check scandal have been forgotten.

Despite her experience, however, she is still urging parents to give their children access to the HPV virus, which she describes as 'life-saving'

She says the Government have bailed out the banks and the FAI but haven't supported those diagnosed with cervical cancer in getting the answers they so deserved.

Stacie herself will have to pay up to €3,500 to get her slides checked by an independent UK expert to help determine if any abnormal cells present in her previous smear tests were missed by human error of if they fell into the parameters of 'acceptable' margin of error - so-called by the RCOG (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists) Expert Panel Review of Cervical Screening.

Newly-wed Stacie and husband Sean were married just three months and had just moved into their new home when she received the devastating diagnosis in October 2018.

However, she instinctively knew she had cancer before she was diagnosed, due to losing her grandmother Lily to a very rare type of gynaecological cancer and working with patients battling the disease.

"On reflection, I had had many, if not all of the classic cancer symptoms including frequent urination, consistent abnormal bleeding and lower back pain, fatigue and weight loss, which I put down to planning our wedding.

"I bled very heavily on my wedding day and so arranged to see a gynaecological surgeon who discovered a high-grade adenocarcinoma of the cervix, which was 7 by five centimeters in size."

The initial response to treatment was poor which was so incredibly frightening. It was just a few days before Christmas and I never felt so scared.

Treatment continued and Stacie had a radical hysterectomy last May, followed by additional surgery which included partial removal of the vagina and surrounding ligaments.

Thankfully, her last MRI showed no evidence of disease so life right now is about finding our new normal.

"I experience a lot of anxiety around recurrence and I am trying hard to manage this but many of the side effects of cervical cancer treatment are poorly understood and the physical and psychological affects can be so complex.

"Sean and I know we can't have children of our own but we are okay with that. We have each other, our friends and family and our whole lives ahead of us together.

Stacie believes that the victims of the Cervical Cancer scandal have been treated with disrespect and further reviews promised by Minister Simon Harris and Cervical Check have not materialised.

"I'm not surprised that Cervical Check got in touch to remind me to attend my smear test, despite me telling them of my diagnosis and treatment plan. This, after all, was a programme which has been shown to fail in its ability to communicate with the very ladies whom the screening process was developed to help.

"The insults don't end there. Like me, any woman diagnosed after May 2018 has no support, no review and no mention because of the review.

"If I want my slides independently rechecked to find out why my cancer or precancerous cells were not caught earlier, I have to pay €3,500 to do so.

However, she was keen to urge parents to ensure their children access the HPV vaccine saying: "there is no reason why any woman or man in the future should have to go through what I and many other wonderful ladies have had to endure. The system, when run correctly, saves many lives."

"I haven't heard one mention of Cervical Check in this election. We can bail out the banks and the FAI but we can't even support the daughter, the sister, wife, mother, aunt, niece, cousin or grandmother to get answers to the diagnosis that made their world fall apart.

"I'm calling on all the women of Ireland to stand up and be counted and use your vote to help each other."

The HSE issued a statement saying it "cannot comment on individual cases."

"Maintaining a patient’s confidentiality is not only an ethical requirement for the HSE, it is also a legal requirement as defined in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) along with the Data Protection Acts 1988-2018. When a patient or family makes personal information public, this does not relieve the HSE of its duty to preserve client confidentiality at all times.

"However, we understand the distress or concern which may be felt by any woman who has had such a diagnosis.

"It is important to note that under CervicalCheck’s eligibility criteria a woman who has had a hysterectomy will continue to be called for regular screening. We would encourage all women to attend for screening when called.

"Further information is available here.

"We would encourage any patient with concerns to contact CervicalCheck on Freephone 1800 45 45 55 ([phone] if calling from outside Ireland); or their clinician who can advise them appropriately."