A woman who was diagnosed with terminal stage four cervical cancer has shared the symptoms she experienced.
Jenna Anne Johnson has taken to TikTok after receiving her diagnosis, documenting her journey since and answering other user’s questions after saying she went to the doctor ‘for an upset tummy’ only to find out she has cancer.
Urging women to go for their smear tests, she explained hers had come back as ‘abnormal’ before further tests revealed she has cervical cancer.
This is cancer found anywhere in the cervix - the opening between the vagina and the womb. The NHS says it is most common in women aged between 30 and 35 but it can happen at any age.
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Jenna explained that it was first concluded that she had it at stage three but it was found that there were a ‘couple of lymph nodes’ below her diaphragm that were affected.
Going through the extent of her condition, she said doctors were ‘just absolutely baffled’ as it was found in a further scan that the two lymph nodes had increased to 12 ‘all over her body’.
“The doctor felt that it was no longer curable which means that it’s terminal,” the 21-year-old said. “It is now stage four because it is spread all throughout my body.”
In a further video, Jenna went on to describe the main two symptoms she experienced.
The first is that she was sleeping ‘way more’ than normal.
“I was sleeping for five extra hours a day, as a nap, and it was just insane,” Jenna described. “Everyone thought I was so lazy but no, that turned out to be a cancer symptom.”
Jenna then added that she would suffer from ‘really bad abdominal cramps’.
“Like period cramps but, amped up to like a million - they would hurt so bad,” she recalled. “I remember being on my hands and knees in the bathroom, praying to God ‘just stop these’.
“I just thought that I was constipated or something.”
Currently doing ‘full blown chemo’, Jenna described cancer as her ‘biggest scare’ and said it is teaching her to ‘live life to your fullest’ and ‘honestly’.
The NHS lists the main symptoms of cervical cancer as:
- Vaginal bleeding that's unusual for you - including bleeding during or after sex, between your periods or after the menopause, or having heavier periods than usual
- Changes to your vaginal discharge
- Pain during sex
- Pain in your lower back, between your hip bones (pelvis), or in your lower tummy
It adds that if you have another condition like endometriosis or fibroids then you may experience these symptoms regularly.
And you may also find that you get used to them but if your symptoms change, get worse or do not feel normal for you, it’s important to see a GP.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
Jess Battison