A young girl suffering with cervical cancer is urging young women to be more aware of the disease, after her doctor mistakenly told her that her stomach cramps were growing pains.
20-year-old Kirstie Wilson was diagnosed with cervical cancer three years ago, but told the Daily Express that her GP had failed to notice that she was suffering with the condition three times. She eventually had to beg them to refer her to a specialist, and it was only then that she received a smear test. She was only 17 at the time, and was therefore too young to receive a test on the NHS, which only offers smear tests to women over 25.
Kirstie had her cervix removed, but then the cancer returned and has since spread. She has been undergoing chemotherapy but it has so far failed to work and she has now been enrolled in a medical trial to try and rid herself of the disease for good.
“I’m just hoping for a miracle,” Kirstie said.
After raising a total of £6,000 for cancer charities, Kirstie said: “I hope other young women read my story and look out for the symptoms.
“A smear test when I first saw my doctor might have saved my life.”