Kirkby woman shares experience of what happened after her cervical cancer diagnosis

Karen Berridge, 43, was diagnosed with cervical cancer following a screening in 2020 and she was asked if she would like an audit of her previous test, which she received.

Karen said: “Two years later I got a letter from my consultant asking me to come in. I hadn’t spoken to them since my diagnosis so it was pretty worrying coming out the blue with no explanation.

“My consultant said the audit showed my 2017 test had been re-evaluated and showed CIN3 cells, which essentially meant I could have had less invasive treatment, as the cancer could have been prevented.

“I didn’t know what to do with the information and an hour later the emotions came. Knowing what had happened could have been avoided was devastating.”

Karen had undergone an hysterectomy after she was diagnosed and she had a difficult recovery.

Karen struggled to understand the audit report due to all the medical jargon and she didn’t know where to turn to to help her interpret the results.

She said: “Nothing was provided for the patient, it was all in medical or scientific language and relying on the consultant to interpret.

“In the end I sent the results to the Jo’s Ask the Expert services which was a lifesaver. It helped explain what others hadn’t explained so clearly.

"It was incredibly helpful, even though it was frustrating as the explanation was largely that there’s a grey area in terms of clinical understanding and skill and I fall into that area. I get it, nothing is perfect but it’s hard when it’s me affected.

“There are hundreds of women like me, and some are in far worse situations. I don’t know why we don’t talk about the audit process more and the fact screening isn’t always reliable.

"Every diagnosis is followed by an audit but there isn't enough information about it to feel supported and informed about what's happening, and so it can end up causing a lot of distress and anger, I see it often on the Forums.

"I am angry about how the whole thing went for me, but I don’t want to scare or worry anyone.

“Audits are a standard practice after any cervical cancer diagnosis and important to help learning and improvement of the screening process, but we need to make the process better for the future

“There needs to be more information and more support for patients, and health professionals need to have a better understanding of the impact the results of an audit can have and be able to guide a patient through it appropriately, that's why I'm trying to raise awareness of the process.

“If you're waiting for the results of your audit or have just been told about it, you're far from alone and there's support out there - places like Jo's. We just need to talk more about what an audit means and what to expect so whatever the outcome patients are ready and don’t feel alone.”

For more information about Jo’s cervical cancer trust visit www.jostrust.org.uk.