Mum who feared partner was cheating after being told she had genital warts was ACTUALLY battling vulval cancer
TOLD she was suffering genital wards, Helen Fox can be forgiven for jumping to the conclusion her partner was cheating on her.
But the reality was far more sinister - she had a rare form of cancer.
Horse groomer Helen, now 43, was in her early thirties when she first noticed what was thought to be genital warts.
But when they didn't clear up with treatment further tests revealed she had a condition called vulval intraepithelial neoplasia, a precursor for cancer.
While the condition doesn’t always turn into cancer, for Helen it turned into vulval cancer.
She has since had parts of her labia sliced away to stop the disease from spreading.
Helen, of Hertford, Herts, said: “I went through hell.
“I really thought I had genital herpes and blamed my then-partner for giving them to me.”
The mum-of-two first noticed an ulcer-like mark on her vulva in 2006.
She visited a sexual health clinic and was diagnosed with suspected genital warts.
Genital warts are caused by the human papillomavirus and are often sexually transmitted, leading Helen to believe her boyfriend at the time was straying.
But the warts didn’t clear after they were frozen – a treatment often used to remove the lumps – so Helen was sent for a biopsy at Royal Stoke Hospital in August of that year.
The results showed that she had a condition called vulval intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN).
“This is a skin disease,” she explained.
“Abnormal cells develop in the surface layers of the skin covering the vulva. The cells can be pre-cancerous, although not all women with it will develop cancer.
“I had the skin affected sliced out under local anaesthetic.
“It was so painful, I decided I was never having it done again without general anaesthetic again.”
Helen attended six-monthly hospital check-ups and also needed surgery once a year to remove any other parts of her vulva affected by VIN.
“Each time, more of my vulva was cut away,” she recalled.
“It was a constant battle to stop the VIN spreading, developing and progressing into vulval cancer.
KNOW THE SIGNS What is vulval cancer, what are the symptoms and what treatments are there?
“Your vulva is such an important part of womanhood and it being sliced away is so hard, it could have had a devastating impact on my mental health.
“Luckily, my job, looking after horses, kept me sane.
A SKIN DISEASE THAT COULD TURN INTO CANCER
Vulval intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN) is a skin disease that could turn into cancer.
It causes abnormal cells to develop in the surface of the skin covering the vulva - the external area of a woman's genitals.
It is not cancer but could later develop into cancer.
Many women who have it have an ongoing infection with high risk types of HPV (human papilloma virus).
It occurs mainly in women aged 30 to 40 and is more common in women who smoke.
VIN is always contained in the top layer of the skin covering the vulva.
If the abnormal cells break through the basement membrane into the deeper tissue, it is classed as vulval cancer.
Symptoms:
- itching
- pain
- changes to the vulval skin
- discomfort or pain during sex
Treatment:
The treatment depends on where the VIN is and the chances of it developing into cancer.
Some women need no treatment at all but will be monitored closely, others will be given a cream to kill the virus, others may have laser therapy to burn away the cells and some women need surgery to remove the affected skin.
Source: Cancer Research UK
“But I’m not embarrassed. Why should I be?
“On the contrary, I’m proud of how well I’ve coped.
“It’s bad luck this happened to me and I now have to deal with it.”
But in 2012 Helen received the devastating news she had vulval cancer.
Vulval cancer is one of the least common gynaecological cancers and accounts for fewer than one per cent of all cancers diagnosed in women in the UK each year, according to Cancer Research UK.
“I’d half-anticipated it, but I was still horrified,” said Helen.
“Years earlier, one very unsympathetic medic had actually said to me ‘at least you know what you’ll die of’.
“So, I knew, at some point, it was very possible that cancer might develop.”
Helen had the cancerous skin cut out in April 2013, but didn't need to have chemo or radiotherapy.
A RARE TYPE OF CANCER THAT AFFECTS A WOMAN'S GENITALS
Vulval cancer is a rare type of cancer that affects a woman's external genitals.
It includes the lips surrounding the vagina (labia minora and labia majora), the clitoris, and the Bartholin's glands -two small glands each side of the vagina.
Most of those affected by vulval cancer are older women over the age of 65.
The condition is rare in women under 50 who have not yet gone through the menopause.
There are about 1,200 new cases in the UK each year.
Symptoms:
- persistent itching
- pain, soreness and tenderness in the vulva
- raised, thick patches of skin that can be red, white or dark
- a lump or wart-like growth
- bleeding from the vulva or blood-stained discharge between periods
- open sore in the vulva
- burning pain when weeing
- a mole on the vulva that changes shape or colour
Treatment:
The main treatment for vulval cancer is surgery to remove the cancerous tissue.
Some people may also need radiotherapy or chemotherapy to destroy the cancer cells
Source: NHS Choices
Since then, regular check-ups have shown that the cancer has not reappeared but the VIN has.
“I’ve had even more surgery,” Helen said.
“I must have had 13 procedures now.
“My perineum (between the anus and the vulva) is much smaller than the average woman and half of my labia majora (outer lips) have been cut away.
“And I have only half a clitoral hood.”
Helen is still able to enjoy a healthy sex life but said the most painful time is when she has her period.
“It can be very painful during this time, because of all the scar tissue,” she said.
“But I am brave – and I will keep fighting through.
“I’m speaking out for other woman."
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