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 mother of three revealed how by putting her own health at the bottom of her to-do list, she ignored dangerous warning signs that led to a devastating cancer diagnosis.

In July 2023, Abbey Jane, 42, noticed unusual stains in her underwear but was otherwise fit and healthy and led a busy daily life.

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

“It had been three years since I had the rod in, so I thought I needed to replace it.”

Abbey booked an appointment to have a new implant fitted shortly afterwards, but the bleeding never went away.

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

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

Abbey was then referred to a gynecologist, who discovered a cancerous tumor on her cervix.

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

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

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

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

Abbey admitted that she had not been aware of pap smears or cervical cancer screening for a decade as it had been ‘invasive’ and ‘inconvenient’ in the past. The latter picks up HPV within 24 hours.

“When I think back, I had some cramps in that area, but I put it down to period pain,” Abbey recalls.

‘I had twins aged seven and three at the time; my pain was low on the priority list.”

Abbey said she felt like she was in “an emotional free fall” when her gynecologist broke the news.

‘He couldn’t tell me more details, because we didn’t know anything at the time. Not whether it was treatable, how advanced it was, if I would survive,” she said.

‘All I could think about was my children. I looked at them and wondered if I would die in a few months. The rest of the world fell away. I couldn’t think about anything but my little children.

‘Still, I had to try to be strong for them. When you take care of the little ones, you don’t have time to get into trouble.’

It took her two weeks to find out she had stage two cervical cancer, and the good news was that the disease had not yet spread to her lymph nodes.

The mother underwent radiation therapy five days a week for five weeks, and also received brachytherapy one day a week in which doctors inserted a device into the vagina for internal radiation.

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

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

‘Besides, as a single mother you don’t really have a day off. I had to wake up every day and get them dressed for preschool, but it took me ten minutes of lying on the floor before I could do that. The littlest things were so tiring.”

Abbey said it was extremely difficult not being able to communicate the severity of her situation to 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 was going to the hospital,” she said.

Not being able to eat also contributed to Abbey’s exhaustion.

‘The treatment changed my taste buds. Everything was horrible, and even if I did manage to eat, I would throw up shortly after.

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

‘The only thing I ate for so long was plain toast. Sometimes in the evening, after I had put the children to bed, I would drink some raspberry syrup.’

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

‘It really cheered me up. It took me away from my reality and into the world of glamour,” she said.

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

“My mother and my sister spent a lot of time taking care of my children when I couldn’t,” she says.

‘They took them with me if I was stuck with radiotherapy for longer or if I needed time for myself at the weekend.’

Now Abbey must undergo screening every two months for two years and then a screening test every year for the rest of her life.

“One of the reasons I postponed the screening is because of the invasive procedure,” Abbey admitted.

“It used to be quite painful.”

About 800 Australian women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, 70 percent of whom are unaware of screening tests.

“I want to encourage women to take their health seriously,” Abbey said.

“You can now get do-it-yourself screenings that are just as invasive as a COVID test. Self-checks are important. Always put yourself first because your health should not be at the bottom of your to-do list.

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