Anne Norton ’s story

Cervical Cancer

If there’s one message Anne Norton wants tell other women, it is – ‘Don’t miss having a Pap test...it could cost you your life’.

Anne Norton is a gregarious, fun-loving 48 year old woman. She’s a wife and mother to four beautiful children, aged 21, 19, 18 with the youngest being 13 years.

At 23 and just recently married Anne returned an abnormal Pap result during a regular Pap smear test. The problem was quickly treated and she was given a clean bill of health and advised to have a Pap smear on an annual basis. After 14 years of normal Pap tests a doctor assured her it wasn’t necessary to continue having yearly tests and to now have them biannual - since all of Anne’s results had been negative for so many years.

Life continued on as normal for Anne and her family, though she made sure she kept her biannual appointments for a Pap smear. That was, till November 2005. Anne did see her doctor, but time was against her and her doctor couldn’t perform the test. Anne agreed to make another appointment.

“It’s amazing how busy you get…I just forgot, what with Christmas, annual holidays, kids going back to school and Uni, I missed making a follow-up appointment,” Anne admitted.

Being registered on the NSW Pap Test Register, Anne was sent a letter after it had been found she’d not had her regular test. The letter prompted Anne into action.

“As soon as I got the letter I rang my doctor,” Anne remembered. “In fact, if I hadn’t got that reminder letter I mightn’t be here today.”

Anne’s test results proved positive and she was referred to a gynaecologist, who then referred her to a surgeon. Anne had to be operated on straight away. Her condition could not be left untreated.

“The doctor actually told me after the surgery that if I’d left it another six months he wouldn’t have been able to operate, it was that bad.”

Once Anne realised the severity of her condition, she phoned the Register to ‘thank them for saving my life’.

Anne is now living a normal life, after a radical hysterectomy and then six weeks of radiotherapy, but the story hasn’t finished there. Because of the radiation and her operation which involved removing a number of lymph nodes, Anne has developed lymphoedema in her legs and has to wear specially designed compression stockings, as well as having to undergo lymphatic drainage massage once a fortnight for the rest of her life.

“I hope women hear my story and make sure they keep their Pap smear appointments…I don’t want anyone going through what I’ve been through.”

While wearing the stockings and having the lymphatic drainage isn’t life threatening, it is uncomfortable and it is something that Anne wouldn’t wish on anyone.

As for her two girls aged 21 and 19, Anne is going to make sure they get the HPV vaccine when it becomes available as well as reminding them to keep their Pap test appointments every two years.