KAREN Hobbs was on holiday when she noticed a small amount of brown discharge in her knickers.
Putting it down to the fact she’d back-to-backed her Pill packets - which is safe to do - she knew it wasn’t normal for her, but wasn’t too concerned to begin with.
Karen, 33, from London, says: “I thought my body was like, ‘Oh, we'd normally have a little withdrawal bleed by now, let me out!’
"I didn't feel any pain or feel unwell.”
She was 24 when her symptoms began in September 2014.
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By that November, Karen had been diagnosed with cervical cancer - a diagnosis that more than 3,000 women in the UK receive every year.
When she was sat down by her consultant following a biopsy, Karen remembers: “I was pushing for him to just tell me [if it was cancer].
"He said, ‘We need to wait for the results of the biopsy, but,’ - as soon as I heard ‘but’ I was thinking about my funeral.
"I was planning it already, like, what would I be wearing in the coffin?"
Karen is sharing her story in aid of The Eve Appeal, the leading charity for gynaecological cancers, which is raising money to help fund research.
It is behind Get Lippy, an annual campaign in May to promote discussion about gynae diseases.
When Karen got home from holiday, she noticed bright red blood after having sex with her then boyfriend: “I thought one of us had been cut.”
The Comedian experienced even more blood when she went to the loo afterwards.
Googling ‘bleeding between periods and after sex’ brought up a whole list of possible conditions: early pregnancy problems, untreated STIs, pelvic inflammatory disease - and cervical cancer was on the list.
Generally, the symptoms of gynaecological cancers are more likely to be something less serious than cancer, but symptoms should always be checked out by a medical professional.
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“It is still so weird saying this, but I kept my fingers crossed for chlamydia,” remembers Karen. “I thought, out of all of those things, I'll take chlamydia.”
However, an STI check ruled that out, so she went to the GP.
At 24, Karen was too young for cervical cancer screenings - these are offered on the NHS every three years from the age of 25-64 - and had been too old for the HPV vaccine when it was first introduced, so she hadn’t had a speculum examination before.
Karen says: “The doctor said it’s likely it’s something called cervical erosion or cervical ectropion - when the delicate cells inside the cervix appear on the outside and can easily bleed if disturbed, like during sex.
“It's quite common, especially in premenopausal women and those taking hormonal contraception.
“The doctor said it's most likely I'd just have to change my contraception to sort it out - it's not linked to cancer at all.
“She had a look and said, ‘Okay, the cervix does look bright red and angry, so we're going to send you for a colposcopy.”
Anyone that's ever had an abnormal cervical screening will be sent for a colposcopy, so the experts can look at the cervix more closely.
“At this point, I was hoping it's still this cervical erosion thing, but obviously, going from a sexual health clinic to the doctor's surgery to hospital, you feel like things are getting worse, even though they’re not necessarily," says Karen.
“The doctor looked at my cervix and after a couple of minutes said, ‘I'm just gonna get somebody more senior.’
“Then you think, it's getting less likely it's a pill packet situation.
“A more senior doctor consultant came in, had a look and took a biopsy, which is quite common.
“He said, ‘Get dressed, come and have a seat’. I was starting to panic. I sat down and asked, ‘Is it cancer?’
“He said, quite rightly, that we needed to wait for the results of the biopsy, which could take a couple of weeks.
“He added, ‘But, I've been doing this for 30 years and I'd be very surprised if this wasn't cancer.
“That was the worst moment, because it had gone from nothing to cancer.
“The next worst moment was the period waiting between finding out it was cancer and finding out how much cancer I had.”
Karen had late stage one cervical cancer and underwent surgery to have her cervix and part of her vagina removed.
Fortunately, she didn’t need chemo or radiotherapy.
She says: “It's so weird saying I was really lucky because I wasn't, I had cancer when I was 24, but I've been to people's funerals in their 20s because of this.
“I do feel lucky because I was unwell, but I wasn't as unwell as I could have been and that is purely because I went to the doctor a few weeks after I had symptoms.”
“I was diagnosed early because I didn't have any barriers,” she adds, acknowledging that not everyone is in the same position.
Experience of sexual violence or abuse, having a physical, mental or learning disability, issues to do with upbringing and speaking English as a second language are amongst many reasons that can delay or prevent people from seeking medical help early.
“My nan talked me through putting my first tampon in.
"I used to wear my mom's period pads because I wanted to join in - we were a very comfortable family,” says Karen.
“I felt comfortable booking the appointment and was diagnosed early because I could go to the doctor early.
“There's no shame; you're not a worse person, you've not been a worse cancer patient if you were diagnosed later than I was.”
SHOCKING STIGMA
Karen may not have experienced barriers to medical care, but she has faced stigma.
She remembers a colleague asking what was going on with her health.
“I was obviously scared about having the surgery, but I didn't have any qualms about sharing what was going on, because why would I?
“In my head there was nothing to be ashamed about.
“So I said, ‘It's quite upsetting, but I've got cervical cancer.’
“She was like, ‘Oh my god, I'm really sorry. How do you get that, then?’
“And I thought, would you ask that question about any other cancer?
“It's because it's between my legs and in my pelvis, right? You wouldn't ask that if it was testicular cancer.
“There is still a stigma around having something the matter with your gynae anatomy or female reproductive system - some people think there is something the matter with you if you have a problem in that area. Which is just ridiculous.
“I was a bit taken aback, but explained it's caused by a virus called human papillomavirus HPV, which is really common and passed on through sexual contact.
“I said that, not thinking anything of it and then she said, ‘I thought you had a boyfriend.’
“I thought, you're inquiring how I got something in my body gynecologically speaking and then questioning my lifestyle and sexual activity?!
“People don't know how common HPV is, they assume if you have HPV, you're not practising safe sex, though even condoms don't prevent HPV entirely.”
HPV can be passed on through any sexual contact and touching, not just penetrative sex.
“I found it absolutely ridiculous that I had to defend the type of disease I had.”
Historically Karen believes HPV has been seen as a girls problem - the vaccine was originally only available to young girls, which has added to the stigma and misinformation around the virus.
“Now the vaccine is offered to all kids aged 12 to 13 which I think has really changed the conversation," she says.
“The misinformation, assumption and stigma and the questions people ask about gynae issues compared to any other type of cancer is, from first hand experience, quite something.”
IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT
She wants people to know that: “If you have a gynae health issue or cancer, or any health problem, whatever it is, you haven't done anything wrong.
“I want people to know that HPV is incredibly common. Most people if they've had any type of sexual dabble will get it at some point in their lives.
“If you're told you have HPV, it doesn't mean that you've done anything wrong sexually, and it doesn't mean your partner has cheated on you.
“If you've had the vaccine, that is fantastic. I'm really pleased and jealous!
“But please still go to your cervical screening, but if you have any symptoms, don't wait for your next screening - symptoms are separate to screening!
“Cervical screening isn't designed to detect a cancer. It's designed to detect HPV, which could cause cancer.
“If you have any symptoms, you do not need a cervical screening, you need to speak to your GP and get referred for further investigation.”
And on the matter of shame, Karen says enough is enough: “I would like people to know that you shouldn't feel shame, but I can't stop people from feeling it.
“I would like to wave a magic wand to make everyone feel better, but I understand that it's a really difficult thing to go through."
Get Lippy is asking everyone to share their “Younger Selfie” – what they wish they had known about gynae health.
Visit getlippy.org.uk for more details.
For more information about gynae cancers, head to The Eve Appeal at eveappeal.org.uk.
