ladbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Nurse Whose Smear Test Was Cancelled In Lockdown Is Diagnosed With Cervical Cancer

Nurse Whose Smear Test Was Cancelled In Lockdown Is Diagnosed With Cervical Cancer

Destiny Wade was told 'you have a low risk of having cervical cancer so you are not a priority'

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

A nurse who had her smear test cancelled due to coronavirus has now been diagnosed with a cancerous tumour the size of a tennis ball.

Destiny Wade, 28, an oncology nurse from Crayford, southeast London, was supposed to have a smear test in March, which was cancelled because of the virus.

She had started having some mild symptoms such as bleeding after sex but was told it was probably a popped cyst.

Destiny in hospital.
Caters

Destiny, who has also had coronavirus, took herself to A&E after a night of heavy bleeding and after three weeks of tests she was diagnosed with cervical cancer.

She has now set up a GoFundMe page and an Instagram account to raise awareness about the importance of smear tests.

She said: "I started having some symptoms in February such as bleeding after sex but I didn't think anything of it.

"In March I was supposed to have a smear test which I do every three years but my GP called me and told me it was cancelled due to Covid-19.

"When I raised that I had some mild symptoms, I was told, 'you are only 27, you have low risk of having cervical cancer so you are not a priority'. I was told I could get an appointment in the next six months."

Destiny also has a passion for bodybuilding.
Caters

She went on: "By May the bleeding was every day. One night I had very extreme bleeding and I had a gut feeling, I thought, 'I can't sit on this any longer' so I took myself to A&E.

"I remember sitting in the car and thinking they are going to laugh in my face because who takes themselves to A&E for bleeding but I just felt I wanted someone to take a look.

"I was on the bed and the consultant did an internal examination - as soon as I saw her face I knew that something was wrong. She said I had a tumour the size of a tennis ball.

"I am a fit active girl, I work with cancer I thought I'd know if I had it but it turns out you can never know. If I had the smear test I would have caught it in March."

Destiny in work.
Caters
Caters

Destiny says her last smear test was in April 2017 and was '100% normal'. Now she has started her first round of chemo for six weeks, followed by another six weeks along with radiotherapy.

She was also devastated to learn the radiotherapy will weaken her womb and she won't be able to carry children.

However she underwent an ovarian transposition - an operation where the ovaries are moved higher up in the body, to minimise the radiotherapy's effect and potentially allow Destiny to have a baby via IVF.

Destiny will be unable to carry her own baby.
Caters

The bodybuilder is determined to beat cancer and is keen on raising awareness for smear tests. She added: "I was told I am on grade three now - if it had been picked up earlier it could have potentially still been at grade one and they could have just removed it."

You can visit Destiny's fundraising page here.

Featured Image Credit: Caters

Topics: UK News, News, Coronavirus, UK, Health