A Dublin woman who had a nightmare about being diagnosed with cancer has told her heartbreaking story of how those worst fears came true.
Shannon Murphy, from Tallaght, woke up in a panic having dreamt about being diagnosed with the disease one morning in March last year.
The vision was so realistic that it pushed her to make an appointment for a smear test quickly.
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"The dream felt so real. I woke up in a panic and told my mum. She was like don’t be ridiculous, it’s only a dream. I booked an appointment anyway,” she told Dublin Live.
The mum-of-five had given birth six months prior and was eligible for a smear test - after which, she received a letter in the post saying she had CIN 2, which are moderately abnormal cells on the surface of her cervix.
Shannon, who works in a deli, went on to say: "I went in for a biopsy in April and they said the results would take six weeks”. The day before her 28th birthday, she received a phone call that changed her life.
She said: "In June I got a call saying: ‘I know it’s your birthday tomorrow and I’m sorry to ring you but can you come into the hospital?’
"I asked her if I had cancer and she said, ‘You know I can’t say anything to you. Make sure you bring somebody in with you’".
Shannon didn't sleep a wink that night and said: "I kept trying to tell myself that maybe she was going to ask me to come in for another test or she was going to say I’ll have to come back for a smear in six months or a year but I knew in my head that I actually do have cancer”.
The young woman went in with her mum and was told she had cervical cancer even though she had received the HPV vaccine.
"The girl in the clinic asked me what had brought me in for the test and I said a dream, to which the nurse said, ‘Oh that’s crazy’”.
Shannon was referred to a doctor who asked if she wanted to go for a hysterectomy or chemotherapy. She said: "I already had five kids, so I told him to do what he had to do. I just wanted to be there for my kids. I went for another biopsy”.
After Shannon underwent the hysterectomy, she was given the all-clear by her doctor who said she would no longer require chemotherapy.
She added: "He just told me to come back for smears. He had said we have to keep an eye on you for the next 15 years because I could come out of remission”.
The doctor told Shannon that she was lucky to have had the test when she did, and she added: "He said if I had left it any longer it would have been a completely different outcome. I just didn’t know that smears were that important”.
The whole situation ended up being nothing short of a miracle for Shannon, as she said: "I had no signs, I had no symptoms. It was so normal. I felt really fit because I had started exercising to lose weight. I was actually feeling better than I had ever felt in my life.
"I was eating properly and going to the gym every morning. I would’ve never thought to myself anything was wrong”. Looking back she shuddered at the moment she nearly left the clinic before her smear test.
"When I was in the waiting room, there was a queue. I was like, ‘I’m leaving. I’m not going to do this’ because I was so scared.
"I told the reception behind the counter I was running out the door and she was like, ‘Please don’t do that’. I told her I didn’t even need it and she said, ‘No, you need it. Please sit down’”.
Shannon said she was glad she went through with it because her smear test was done within seconds. She also praised her doctor, Dr. Waseem Kamran, who was a great support to her through the whole process.
She said: "Thank god for my doctor. I would’ve been so lost had it not been for him.
"My doctor was so straightforward with me. He was great. He’d never leave me waiting for anything. He would tell me what was going on”.
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