I’m a busy single mum and ignored a glaring symptom for weeks that led to a shock cancer diagnosis. Now I’m begging Aussie women to hear my warning

A single mum-of-three revealed how putting her own health at the bottom of her to-do list saw her ignoring dangerous red flags that led to a devastating cancer diagnosis.

In July 2023, Abbey Jane, 42, noticed unusual spotting in her underwear  but was otherwise fit, healthy and living a busy day-to-day life.

Speaking to FEMAIL, the Geelong mum said: ‘I’d had an implant in for a few years and hadn’t had a period in a while, so I remember thinking me bleeding was odd.

‘It had been three years since I had the rod in, so I thought I was due for a replacement.’

Abbey booked in to get a new implant installed soon after, but the bleeding never went away.

‘I was bleeding every day and I went back to the doctor a few weeks later when it got worse,’ she said.

After a few scans, Abbey’s doctor revealed that she had tested positive for HPV – a very common sexually transmitted infection that often has no symptoms.

Abbey was then referred to a gynaecologist, who discovered a cancerous mass on her cervix.

Most cervical cancers are the result of an infection with certain types of HPV.

Four in five people will be infected with at least one type of HPV in their lives. It is usually passed on during sexual contact with someone who has the virus.

Most people who get HPV will have no symptoms and the virus will be destroyed by their immune system.

In some, the virus stays in the body and can cause changes in the cervix, which can then lead to cancer.

Abbey admitted she hadn’t kept up to date with pap smears or the cervical screening test for a decade because of how ‘invasive’ and ‘uncomfortable’ it had been in the past. The latter picks up HPV within 24 hours.

‘Thinking back, I had some cramps in that region but I put it down to period pain,’ Abbey recalled.

‘I had a seven-year-old and three-year-old twins at the time – my pain was low on the priority list.’

Abbey said she felt like she was ‘in emotional free fall’ when her gynaecologist delivered the news.

‘He couldn’t tell me any other details because we didn’t know anything at the time. Not if it was treatable, how advanced, if I was going to survive,’ she said.

‘All I could think about was my children – I’d look at them and wonder if I was going to die in a few months. The rest of the world fell away. I couldn’t think of anything but my little kids.

‘Still – I had to try and be strong for them. You don’t have time to fall in a heap when you’re looking after little ones.’

It was two weeks before she found out she had stage two cervical cancer – and the good news was that it hadn’t yet spread to her lymph nodes.

The mum went through radiation therapy five days a week for five weeks, and also had one day a week of brachytherapy where doctors insert a machine into the vagina for internal radiation.

‘Twenty-four hours after starting treatment, the symptoms started. I had terrible fatigue and nausea,’ she said.

‘I went to work for the first three weeks but I couldn’t do it after that.

‘In addition, being a single mum, you don’t really get a day off. I had to wake up and dress them for kindergarten everyday, but I needed 10 minutes to lie on the floor before I could do that. The smallest things were so exhausting.’

Abbey shared that it was particularly difficult not being able to communicate the severity of her situation with her children.

‘They were too young to understand, and I didn’t want to worry them. They knew I wasn’t feeling well, and that I’d been going to the hospital,’ she said.

Being unable to eat also contributed to Abbey’s exhaustion.

‘Treatment changed my taste buds. Everything was awful, and even if I did manage to eat – I’d just throw up soon after.

‘The smell of someone cooking was enough to send me over the edge.

‘All I ate for so long was plain toast. Sometimes in the evenings, after putting the children to bed, I’d drink some raspberry cordial.’

The mum also watched ‘Glow Up’ on Netflix – a reality television show about makeovers.

‘It really lifted my spirits. It took me away from my reality and into the world of glamour,’ she said.

Abbey revealed that she was ‘eternally grateful’ for her support system.

‘My mum and my sister spent a lot of time looking after my children when I couldn’t,’ she aid.

‘They’d take them if I got stuck at radiotherapy for longer or if I needed time to myself on weekends.’

Now, Abbey has to get screenings every two months for two more years and then a screening test every year for the rest of her life.

‘One of the reasons I put off the screening is because of how invasive the procedure is,’ Abbey admitted.

‘It had been quite painful in the past.’

About 800 Australian women are diagnosed with cervical cancer annually, 70 per cent of whom aren’t up to date with their screening tests.

‘I want to encourage women to take their health seriously,’ Abbey said.

‘You can get DIY screenings now that are as invasive as a COVID test. Self-checks are important – you should always put yourself first because your health shouldn’t be on the bottom of your to-do list.

‘If you don’t have your health, you are no use to yourself, and you are no use to anyone else.’