'I put off my smear test for so long out of stupidity'

Well-known comedian and actor Diona Doherty has spoken of her "guilt" and "stupidity" over going 12 years without a smear test, after a recent one showed severe pre‑cancerous cell changes.

The 36-year-old mum-of-two disclosed her experience - which included having part of her cervix removed - on a podcast earlier this week.

"I had left it so long out of stupidity, genuinely just putting it off," she admitted as she urged other women to take care of their personal health.

An average of 84 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer each year between 2018 and 2022, according to the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, which holds the most recent statistics.

Diona said she had a "niggling" feeling to book a smear after it occurred to her last year that she only ever had one when she was aged 25, but she assumed that she would be fine as she had no symptoms.

When her GP then phoned her to say she had a "moderate level of pre-cancerous cells", she said she "had a wee cry after".

"Mainly because I'm a mum of two really young kids," she said.

"That heightened the sense of urgency and the sense of guilt that I had spent so long putting off getting a smear test - stupidly," Diona told BBC News NI.

"When you come off the phone from a medical professional, I think you forget what they said, you forget the ins-and-outs of it and I didn't really know how serious it was or how serious to take it."

She added that she felt "guilty as a mum for not having done it earlier".

Diona had to go for a biopsy at Daisy Hill Hospital, where she was told she was actually at a "severe level of pre-cancerous cells" and was offered treatment there and then.

"I sort of was in a bit of a state of shock because I thought if I had left that any longer, surely that's [cancer] what would have happened."

She then underwent a procedure where her pre-cancerous cells, and a part of her cervix, were removed.

Laser therapy, or laser ablation, is a procedure done under local anaesthetic where a laser burns away the abnormal cells.

"I was like, well, let's just do it right now. Let's handle the situation right now. I want it done immediately," Diona said.

Diona said that during the procedure, her doctor told her it was "crazy" that she had gone 12 years without a smear test before following "an instinct to make the appointment" - a decision that proved crucial, as she was at the final stage before the cells would have become cancerous.

"Like I'm a mum, how stupid am I not to take my own health into my own hands instead of just being stupid about it. I'm just so glad I did," she told her co-hosts on the Girls Groupchat podcast.

Diona has been told by her doctor that they are confident everything is handled and she requires no further treatment until she goes for another smear in six months.

"I know how it feels to constantly postpone your smear and now be in a world of regret for having had done that.

"I cannot recommend enough just booking your smear right now."

Diona said some of the reasons for not booking a smear were "work commitments".

In addition to being part of the Girls Groupchat podcast, alongside Jordan Arnold, Shannon Mitchell and Olivia McVeigh; Diona's other credits include appearances on BBC NI's The Blame Game, Blue Lights and Derry Girls, as well as a recent sell out Edinburgh Fringe show.

She said women and their employers need to make time off for health appointments a priority.

"There needs to be much more leniency with employers and in workplaces to allow women and men to be able to leave the workplace and go to these appointments that are life-saving.

"If you're waiting on one, don't put it off because you will be so annoyed if you have a result that's not good for something silly - like [if] you had a night out planned or you had a work thing," Diona said.

Cervical screening, while not a diagnostic test, is for people without symptoms and aims to detect early changes which could go on to develop into cervical cancer if left untreated.

In some cases, cancer may be found.

In December 2023, Northern Ireland introduced primary HPV cervical screening.

It checks for an infection called human papillomavirus (HPV) - the cause of most cervical cancers.

This newer HPV test is regarded as a better indicator than cytology of identifying who is a higher risk of developing cervical cancer.

Screening can catch the cancer at an early stage, but the main symptoms are:

• vaginal bleeding that's unusual for you – including during or after sex, between periods or after the menopause - or heavier periods than usual
• changes to vaginal discharge
• pain during sex or in the lower back, lower tummy or between the hip bones (pelvis)

Source: nhs.uk