Chloe Goodman, 25, has had half her cervix removed and could struggle to have a baby as she begs women to go for smear tests
CHLOE Goodman has revealed her devastation after she had half her cervix removed and could struggle to have a baby – as she begs women to go for their smear tests.
The 25-year-old glamour model received the devastating news after her first cervical smear test.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun Online, Celebrity Big Brother star Chloe said: “I was diagnosed with grade three abnormal cells which is one stage before cervical cancer.
“It was my first smear at 25 so it was so not what I was expecting.”
One cause of abnormal cells is the HPV virus which can be passed through sex, but after the operation, Chloe discovered hers had not been caused by HPV.
She explained: “Not everyone has to have HPV to have abnormal cells. It’s just down to genetics.
“People who have had the HPV vaccine will think they won’t need to have a smear but that’s wrong, you can be like me and generally have the cancer cells.”
Chloe’s revelation comes just days after the 10th anniversary of Jade Goody’s death.
The Big Brother star passed away aged just 27 after being diagnosed with cervical cancer.
In the lead up to the anniversary, stats revealed the number of women going for their smear tests had dropped over the last decade.
What is HPV?
The NHS states Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the name for a group of viruses that affect your skin and the moist membranes lining your body.
Examples of this include your:
- cervix
- anus
- mouth and throat
There are more than 100 types of HPV. Around 40 types of HPV infection can affect the genital area.
Genital HPV infections are common and highly contagious. They’re spread during sexual intercourse and skin-to-skin contact of the genital areas.
Girls aged 12 to 13 are offered a vaccination against HPV to help protect them against types of HPV that can cause cervical cancer.
Women aged 25 to 64 are offered cervical screening to check for abnormal cells in the cervix.
HPV can also cause a number of different types of cancers in men, such as anal cancer, cancer of the penis and some types of head and neck cancer.
Chloe is keen to not only get women attending their appointment – which for most women is every three years – but to get the age lowered from 25.
She said: “100 per cent lower the age, I’m quite angry that it’s not at 21.”
Of her own diagnosis, the Ex on the Beach star added: “They [the doctors] panicked, I saw it in their faces that they panicked with how severe it was. If it is that severe, the age needs to be lowered.
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“I would say don’t be ignorant, just because Jade’s passing was 10 years ago doesn’t mean women are not being diagnosed every single day.”
Thankfully Chloe had her test results back last month from her operation and she has had no more abnormal cells develop in her cervix, but she has been warned she may struggle to have children.
She said: “It made me have to have a chat with my boyfriend Grant about having babies sooner as obviously I may not have a cervix left.
Cervical smear tests explained
- Cervical screening (a smear test) checks the health of your cervix. The cervix is the opening to your womb from your vagina.
- It’s not a test for cancer, it’s a test to help prevent cancer.
- All women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 64 should be invited by letter.
- During the screening appointment, a small sample of cells will be taken from your cervix.
- The sample is tested for changes to the cells of your cervix.
- Finding abnormal changes early means they can be monitored or treated so they do not get a chance to turn into cervical cancer.
- You’ll get your results by letter, usually in about 2 weeks.
(Information taken from the NHS website www.nhs.uk
“Getting rid of half the cervix is more likely to cause an early or premature birth as the cervix is what keeps the baby in.
“The doctors warned me ‘If you get past the three months marks you’re not out the woods yet, it’s possible you will have a premature birth’.
“I was in tears for days when they told me but my boyfriend is also quite black and white like me, so we were pragmatic about it and will see what our options are and make decisions if and when we need to.”
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