Newlywed discovers she’s battling cervical cancer five days after her honeymoon – now she wants ALL women to make their smear test a priority
A LOVE-struck pair of newlyweds were forced to put their lives on hold after the bride was diagnosed with cervical cancer just five days after returning from their honeymoon.
Kayleigh and Rory Spillman married in August last year, at a countryside manor in Hertfordshire, before jetting off to luxurious Bora Bora in French Polynesia.
But just five days after the pair, who met at the University of Kent 10-years ago, returned to the UK to start life as a married couple, school teacher Kayleigh was given the devastating news she had cervical cancer.
The couple, of Hertford Heath, Hertforshire, have endured three months of enforced celibacy, while Kayleigh recovers from a radical trachelectomy that removed her cervix.
Now, during Cervical Cancer Prevention Week (January 22 to 28), Kayleigh is urging all women to get a smear test, no matter how uncomfortable they find them.
Kayleigh, 29, said: “What should have been the best months of our lives have been some of the worst.
“We wanted to enjoy life as a married couple, just normal things, but that’s been put on hold.”
Their story comes as research by charity, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, has found a quarter of young women are too embarrassed to attend smear tests and 50 percent of those surveyed reported delaying or not attending appointments.
Special needs teacher Kayleigh visited her GP for a routine smear in July last year, after getting the all clear at her first test three years earlier.
Just two weeks before her wedding, the bride-to-be was so busy putting the finishing touches to her big day, that she thought little of the polyps the nurse found during the smear.
She added: “They said it was nothing worry about and I got a letter saying I’d need a colposcopy to take a look at my cervix a few weeks later.
“The procedure was just four days before the wedding, so I thought of it like a hair appointment I needed to get done, rather than as anything serious.”
At the colposcopy at Hertford County Hospital on August 2, Kayleigh says she was giddy with excitement about her big day on August 6 and wasn’t worried.
And when she and 28-year-old Rory, a solicitor, said ‘I do’ at Shendish Manor, in front of friends and family, the thought of cancer could not have been further from Kayleigh’s mind.
She recalled: “The wedding was the most amazing day.
“We got engaged in 2012, so we had waited such a long time for the day to arrive and it couldn’t have been any more perfect.
“To have all our family and friends together to celebrate with us just meant so much to the both of us.”
Three days later they flew to LA for a luxury city break, before heading to honeymooner’s paradise Moorea and Bora Bora in the French Polynesia for 10 days.
Kayleigh said: “The honeymoon was everything we could have dreamed of and more.
“Rory had planned the whole trip as a surprise. He told me by giving me a book full of pictures of the destinations we were going to in April. I couldn’t have planned it better myself.
“We were talking about all the things we wanted to do once we got home now we were married. Travelling, doing up our house, starting a family… life felt so exciting.”
But when they landed home at Heathrow airport on August 25, Kayleigh picked up voicemails on her mobile from the hospital, asking her to bring her appointment forward.
Five days later she returned to Hertford County Hospital, where she was told she had 1B1 cervical cancer, with an 11mm by 4mm tumour.
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She was told she would need a radical trachelectomy to remove her cervix, as well as more surgery to remove her lymph nodes.
She recalled: “I was absolutely devastated. I couldn’t believe that just five days after getting back from our honeymoon, I was diagnosed with cervical cancer.
“To say it was a shock would be an understatement. I hadn’t had any symptoms and me and Rory had our whole lives ahead of us.”
Kayleigh had the seven hour operation on October 28 and doesn’t need chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
But the newly married couple were told they could not have sex for three months from that date until January 28, after her check-up appointment.
There Kayleigh will visit the hospital again, where she and Rory are hoping they will be given the green light to become intimate once more.
She added: “We’re newlyweds, but we haven’t been able to have sex. We were told to wait.
“When we can have sex again, we’ve been told it could be painful.
“Hopefully, it will all be fine, as three months is a long time to wait when you’re just married.”
Rory said: “Of course what we’ve been through would put pressure on a relationship.
“We got to enjoy our honeymoon before anything started happening and now we don’t want to jeopardise any chance of having children and a future together.
“We have put our newlywed year on hold until a relevant time. It’s been difficult, but in the circumstances sex isn’t on the couple’s mind.
“The most important thing was Kayleigh and making sure she was well.
“There are more important things to deal with first. You have feelings, but they get put aside for a while. And I’ve learnt more about Kayleigh’s cervix than I would in any other scenario.”
Fortunately, Kayleigh, who is in remission, has been told she and Rory will still be able to have children, as they had planned, and she says they won’t wait long in case her fertility is affected.
Now she wants to remind other women how important it is to get a smear test.
Almost a quarter of a million women aged 25-29 did not attend their smear test in England last year.
What is cervical cancer?
Described as a " silent killer", cervical cancer is where the disease starts in the neck of the womb - the cervix.
Around 3,000 new cases are diagnosed in the UK each year.
It is possible for women of all ages to develop the disease, but it mainly affects those who are sexually active and aged 30 to 45.
It is very rare in women under the age of 25.
In 2014, there were 3,224 new cases of the disease diagnosed in the UK, while 890 women lost their lives.
What causes the disease?
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common cause of cervical cancer.
Two strains of HPV - HPV 16 and HPV 18 - are known to be responsible for 90 per cent of cases.
What are the symptoms?
Cervical cancer is known as a silent killer, because for most women there are no obvious signs, particularly during the early stages.
However, the most common sign is vaginal bleeding between your periods.
Other symptoms include:
- bleeding during or after sex
- bleeding after going through the menopause
Some women also notice:
- an unpleasant smelling vaginal discharge
- discomfort or pain during sex
Women experiencing any of these symptoms are advised to see their GP.
Also, more than two thirds are unaware of the role of smear tests in preventing cervical cancer, according to research Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust.
Kayleigh added: “I didn’t know much about cervical cancer before I was diagnosed. I knew a smear test was really important and had to be done every three years, but to be honest, I didn’t really know why.
“But I am so glad I did go and get mine done. It’s been a roller coaster with lots of positive thinking but also a few lows, but I’m just so glad I booked that test.
“Ladies, don’t miss your smear tests. They are so easy to put off, but it’s 10 minutes out of your day that could literally save your life.”
Smear tests provide the best protection against cervical cancer but over one in four women don’t attend their smear test when invited.
Support #SmearForSmear and help Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust change this.
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