A bubbly and beautiful lady who you would never guess went through such a traumatic journey to motherhood. Sinead Kavanagh of The Beautiful Truth suffered from Thyroid Cancer and a ‘broken cervix’ which led to an overall difficult and traumatic pregnancy.

Spot the Symptoms

Symptoms may be vague at first because thyroid cancer grows very slowly. The symptoms can include:

• A painless lump in your neck, which gradually gets bigger
• Difficulty in swallowing or breathing
• Changes to your voice, including hoarseness

Even though these symptoms can be caused by complaints other than cancer, do have them checked by your doctor.

Screening

Testing for thyroid cancer when you have no symptoms is called screening. There is no national screening programme for thyroid cancer at present. Talk to your GP if you think you are at risk.

The importance of a smear test

Cervical cancer is a cancer of the cells of the cervix (neck of the womb). Between 2008 and 2010, on average there were 308 cases of cervical cancer per year in Ireland and 88 recorded deaths in 2010 – National Cancer Registry Ireland (NCRI).

Cervical cells change slowly and take many years to develop into cancer cells, making cervical cancer a preventable disease.

The risk of cervical cancer can be reduced by:

• Having regular smear tests to pick up any early cell changes
• Stopping smoking (for help contact the National Smokers’ Quitline on Freephone 1850 201 203)
• Visiting a doctor to discuss any concerns or symptoms such as irregular vaginal bleeding, spotting or discharge.

Cervical cancer does not run in families. Daughters and other female relatives of women with abnormal smear tests, pre-cancerous cells (CIN) or cervical cancer do not have an increased risk of abnormal smear tests, pre-cancerous cells or cervical cancer.

Get tested