Too many women are turned away at doctors’ offices when they
request cancer tests—just because they’re “too young for cancer.” Often, all it
takes is to transfer to another doctor and get a second opinion from someone who
will listen to you. But sometimes that doesn’t happen.
A case in point is a 26-year-old woman from Bristol,
England, who was deemed “too young” to be given a cervical smear test, and then
died of cervical cancer in February 2013. Her story is why it is so important
to trust your instincts, seek a second opinion, and rail against legislation.
Becky Ryder visited her general physician in September 2010
for abnormal bleeding, which can be a sign of either cervical or ovarian
cancer. But because she wasn’t yet 25, the doctor refused to administer a smear
test and, instead, diagnosed her with “harmless cervical erosion” and
prescribed her a treatment.
Finally sticking to her guns after months of disappointing
appointments, she visited another doctor for a second opinion and underwent a
biopsy. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in March 2011 and chose to freeze
her eggs in order to have children later. Despite radiotherapy and
chemotherapy, she died before her third wedding anniversary.
If the first doctor had allowed the cervical smear test,
Ryder may have been saved. However, the first doctor wasn’t just at fault in
this case. England legislations had changed and raised the smear test’s minimum
age requirement from 20 to 25.
An article on dailymail.co.uk explains Ryder’s story. It
states:
“The Mercedes Curnow Foundation For The Early Detection Of Cervical Cancer now campaigns for a reduction in the screening age to 20. It also funds private smear tests. But the Department of Health said routine screening of under-25s did ‘more harm than good’, giving too many false positive results that lead to needless treatment.”
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