Welcome to my Bob blog!
Hello lovely people! Thank you for coming to take a little look at my new blog. This is going to be my place for thoughts, photos, links, articles and generally a bit of a scrapbook for my "journey" - part 2!
This blog is primarily for my family and friends, to keep you up to date with the latest excitement. Last year I stuck everything on Facebook for you all to see, but this year it's getting more serious and I don't want to flood your feed with never ending cancer chat. So every time there's an update, I'll just post a link to this blog instead!
As well as things about me, my aim is to add lots of links to other websites, blogs, charity events - all sorts to help raise awareness and give you more information on what I'm going through (if you want to know - some of it's pretty grizzly!)
I'd also love to start a (completely anonymous) tally of people who have now booked their smear test since reading my story. It's not a smug pride thing, but I want something positive to come from my yucky experience. Thanks to putting off having my smear test, I am about to become infertile, go through the menopause at 30 and am fighting to just stay alive. It's all so avoidable and whatever happens to me, it would be great to see how many other people it's helped.
My story in a nut shell....
In January 2016 I was diagnosed with stage 1b1 Cervical cancer. Doctors removed my pelvic lymph nodes to see if the cancer had spread but couldn't find any further traces, so removed the 2cm tumour (not so affectionately named "Bob") that had made itself at home on my cervix via a surgical procedure called a "Radical Trachelectomy" (find out more here - www.jostrust.org.uk/about-cervical-cancer/cervical-cancer/treatments/surgery/trachelectomy).
All seemed fine until a routine MRI at the beginning of March this year showed a 3cm growth on my right ovary. Doctors did a full work up and didn't seem too concerned but removed it to test it anyway. I went back for my results on Thursday 6th of April and sadly Bob is back. The same naughty cancer has somehow hidden himself until now and formed a new blob. Again, all the blood tests and scans can't find any other cancer in my body so they're hopeful it's just somehow grown there. But as this is a recurrence, rather than a new cancer, they can't risk leaving it. Tomorrow (Monday 10th of April) the amazing team at the Royal Marsden hospital will remove both of my ovaries and fallopian tubes to grade my cancer and decide on further treatment. This will probably include chemotherapy to zap any rogue Bob cells that have hidden themselves again.
So there you are. All because I just didn't fancy having my smear test for all those years. Please don't be afraid or find an excuse to put it off. Go. For. Your. Smear.