A mum is urging others not to feel awkward about their health after '15 minutes of embarrassment' led to her being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Kathy Morse had been suffering from a strange dizziness for several weeks whenever she sat down.
After booking an appointment with her GP, she underwent various tests and checks, however all her results came back clear. Shortly after, she found a painless lump on her vaginal area, Manchester Evening News reports.
Despite feeling slightly self-conscious, Kathy went back to her doctor to request an examination. A biopsy was taken and the mum later given the heartbreaking news that she had vaginal cancer.
An extremely rare and often aggressive illness, vaginal cancer affects just 250 women in the UK each year. The then 52-year-old, from Walkden, was diagnosed during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in December 2020, an experience she reflects on as the most isolating time of her life.
Kathy was referred to the care of the Christie Hospital in south Manchester, with further tests showing her cancer had progressed to Stage 3 - meaning she'd require immediate treatment. Last January, she underwent a seven hour procedure to remove the tumour and reconstruct part of her vagina.
She also had to undergo an intense programme of radiotherapy and chemotherapy after results showed the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. The mum-of-two has now completed all of her treatment and attends regular check-ups at the hospital.
She also has to take regular medication to help with severe nerve damage she's been left with. After getting over the fear of her sharing her own story, Kathy is now urging other women to put aside any embarrassment or discomfort about seeing a GP over gynaecological concerns - and ask to be examined if they notice anything unusual.
"If I didn't go through that 15 minutes of embarrassment with my doctor I might not be having this conversation now," she said.
"It's a very rare form of cancer and most people I've spoken to have never even heard of it. I had a full hysterectomy 15 years ago as well so it seemed like I had less chance of developing anything in that region."
Kathy, who previously worked as a teaching assistant for special needs children, first noticed something was slightly off after she began feeling dizzy during lockdown. She said: "I just started to feel really dizzy when I was sitting down.
"When I stood up I felt absolutely fine. I went to the doctors and my blood pressure was fine, they ruled out everything with blood tests.
"I never felt ill. Then I felt a lump in that area. It wasn't painful and I just thought it was cyst that would need removing so I booked to see my doctor."
In her early 50s, Kathy didn't particularly fit the age profile or symptom check-list for vaginal cancer. Around 40 per cent of women who are diagnosed are aged over 65.
Common symptoms include unexpected vaginal bleeding, a vaginal lump, pain when urinating, persistent pelvic and vaginal pain and vaginal pain during sexual intercourse.
"I had a vaginal biopsy under general anaesthetic and I went for my diagnosis during covid on my own," she said. "They never actually said the word cancer, but said it wasn't good news. It was all a bit of a blur.
"I went to the Christie Hospital for further tests and it came back as stage three. The tumour was around 2.5cm and last January I had surgery lasting seven hours to remove it.
"They successfully removed it but it had already got through my pelvic wall and they took lymph nodes for testing. It came back that it had spread so I had to go through 25 rounds of radiotherapy and five courses of chemotherapy in the space of five weeks.
"The chemotherapy didn't really affect me much but I had really bad radiotherapy burn. I've had two children and I've never felt pain like that before. That was the lowest point for me, but I got through it."
Kathy is now determined to use her traumatic journey as a warning to other women to be more aware of their genital area in the same way they would check their breasts.
"If I had not gone to the doctors when I did, I really believe I wouldn't be here now," she said. "What if I had been too embarrassed to see my GP? If I can help just one person that's enough.
"It makes me angry that people find these lumps and they don't get checked out. I know there are a lot of people that don't want to go to their smear tests or general gynaecological appointments.
"When you have a cancer that is really rare it's isolating, but why should we feel embarrassed? Deborah James was amazing in raising awareness about bowel cancer and I want to do the same."
September is gynaecological cancer awareness month, and Kathy is using it to spread awareness about vaginal cancer, and campaign for pelvic checks to be offered to women, alongside smear tests.
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