In this blog, Kathy shares her story of her vaginal cancer diagnosis, her treatment and the cancer advocacy work she does as part of her recovery.

Weeks before my vaginal cancer diagnosis, I had been experiencing a strange dizziness whenever I sat down. However, multiple tests and checks by my GP didn’t show anything worrying. Then shortly after, I felt a lump in my vagina. Whilst the lump wasn’t painful, it did make me push past any embarrassment I felt and ask a doctor for an examination.

After a biopsy and further tests, in December 2020 I was diagnosed with Stage 3 vaginal cancer, my tumour was 2.5cm in size.

In the midst of COVID lockdown, January 2021, I had a seven-hour surgical procedure to remove the tumour and reconstruct parts of my vagina. The cancer had also spread to the lymph nodes in my pelvic wall, so I had to undergo intense treatment of 25 rounds of radiotherapy and five courses of chemotherapy, all within just five weeks.

When I was at my lowest and needed a boost, I would look at photos of my kids when they were little and it helped keep me going. Having a gynae cancer can be so isolating, especially when it is so rare and stigmatised. I was lost with it all, the average person probably knows about breast and bowel cancers, but vaginal cancer was draining to explain.

Since finishing all my treatment, I have attended my regular hospital check-ups and I also take medication to help with some resulting nerve damage.

Lots of people ask me “How did you get that? Did you not go to your cervical screening test?” and it’s not ignorance that they don’t know these things, it is a lack of knowledge. So, I let them ask me anything, I like chatting to people and telling them my story as someone who has gone through the experience, and I get my message out there.

Plus, I also raise awareness and money for The Eve Appeal, I’ve shared Eve’s information postcards and heart badges throughout Manchester. I’ve even got my family and friends and local community involved; from my daughter hosting coffee mornings, to my sister raising money at work, to the nearby coffee hut and local chippy sharing the Eve heart badges that I gave them.

My awareness work is part of my recovery. It gives me something to do, keeps me going and it’s good for my mental health. I’ve found that by helping somebody else, it helps me. I have nonstop ideas about how to raise awareness and I will tell my story to anyone who will listen!

There is no nice way to explain vaginal cancer, but it’s my story. I want women to know their bodies, to talk about their bodies, and to follow their gut reaction if something isn’t right. As I always say, please don’t die of embarrassment.