Cervical Screening Awareness Week (15-21 June 2026) Rachel's Story

To mark Cervical Screening Awareness Week (15–21 June 2026), we’re sharing Rachel’s story to highlight the life-saving impact of attending routine screening. Cervical screening can feel like a simple check, but it plays a vital role in detecting changes early, often before any symptoms appear. Rachel’s experience is a powerful reminder of why taking up your invitation matters. 

Rachel was an English teacher for 18 years, is a published author, happily married, and a mum to two children and two dogs. 

Rachel’s cervical cancer journey began in 2021 at the age of 46. 

She was fit, healthy and happy. She enjoyed running regularly, going to yoga classes and walking her beloved dogs. When her periods started getting closer together, she put it down to peri-menopause. She had always attended her cervical screening appointments, and when her next invitation arrived, she thought little of it. She never thought they were a big deal, just something routine to get done. 

Around 4–5 weeks after her screening appointment, Rachel received a letter from the Health Board saying her results were abnormal and that she needed a further investigation at the colposcopy unit at Nevill Hall Hospital. The letter assured her that cervical cancer was unlikely. She remembers taking her dogs for a walk and having a cry because she was shocked. However, friends and family reassured her that they’d received similar letters, and it had been because cells had been inflamed and not because of cancer. 

When Rachel attended the follow-up appointment a few months later, in November, she was expecting everything to be fine. It was during the Covid pandemic, so due to restrictions, her husband wasn’t allowed to go in with her. She went in alone while he waited outside. 

“The medical professional sat me down and delivered the news that there was a 90% chance I had cervical cancer. I was absolutely devastated. She told me she was going to perform a colposcopy and a biopsy. During the procedure, a nurse held my hand because I was shaking and crying. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me.” 

Afterwards, she met her husband outside. She didn’t want to cry or upset him, but as soon as she saw him, she burst into tears. She remembers a man walking past with a puppy, which made her cry even more as she thought about her own dogs. 

To her knowledge, nobody in her family had ever had cancer, apart from her great-grandmother in her 80s. She kept thinking, “How have I got cancer?” She didn’t understand much about HPV at the time. The word cancer has such terrifying connotations, and she found it hard to believe she would survive.  

The next few months were a blur. The Macmillan nurses she met with were wonderful. They were calm and reassuring, explaining that everything would be taken one step at a time. Even so, it was difficult to trust in that when Rachel had been ignorant to the fact that anything sinister was happening inside her body. 

The cancer was confirmed as stage 1A2. 

Rachel had an MRI then a second procedure back at the colposcopy clinic at the end of January 2022. This time it was to remove any remaining abnormal cervical tissue. Following this appointment, she was told that although the margins now seemed clear, the only way to ensure the cancer wouldn’t return was to have a hysterectomy. She talked everything through with her husband before making the decision to have surgery. 

She met with the gynaecological oncology team at University Hospital of Wales, who booked her in for surgery in February. “Everything happened so quickly and they didn’t mess about.” 

The surgeon and the surgical team were kind and compassionate. She had a full hysterectomy, and they also removed 18 lymph nodes. She was prescribed HRT, as she was now in surgical menopause, and was well enough to go home the next day.  

She had regular checks in the months that followed, and a Macmillan nurse visited her at home several times. “She was lovely and always at the end of the phone if I needed her.” 

When Rachel returned for her results and was given the all clear, she cried with relief.  

Rachel is active again, still doing yoga and still loving long walks with her dogs.  

As she didn’t have any symptoms, she says that without cervical screening, the cancer wouldn’t have been picked up until much later, and things could have been very different. 

“I’m grateful to the NHS for screening and for everything they did for me. My message to anyone who’s called for cervical screening is to attend your appointment. Be honest with the medical professional at your screening appointment if you’re feeling anxious or concerned. No one likes having it done, and it’s harder for some people than it is for others, but it could save your life.” 

To find out more about cervical screening, visit: Cervical Cancer - Aneurin Bevan University Health Board