This may sound a little over-dramatic, but I乌鸦传媒檓 currently dying.

I mean, (spoiler alert) technically we all are. But at the moment I have cervical cancer, and am just finishing all of the tests required before treatment starts. It乌鸦传媒檚 a personal cancer, with intimate details of symptoms. It乌鸦传媒檚 a cancer that begins with invasive screening, and when it乌鸦传媒檚 hopefully cured, some very privately heartbreaking side effects.

All of it may be too personal for print, although in my opinion it shouldn乌鸦传媒檛 be. But suffice it to say that I have been diagnosed with 2B cervical cancer, with involvement of at least one lymph node. This is going to take more than a few visits to the gynecologist to clear up, but I乌鸦传媒檒l be okay in the end.

As my symptoms worsened, it got harder to be at work. So I乌鸦传媒檝e been at home for the past month. I乌鸦传媒檝e been preparing for chemo and radiation, which will take about six or seven weeks once it starts. I乌鸦传媒檝e been resting and spending time with my family, and napping. And I乌鸦传媒檝e been kicking myself.

I am acutely aware that I乌鸦传媒檓 in this situation because I willfully neglected my regular pap smears for a few years. Okay, many years.

I had been to the doctor for countless other reasons. I乌鸦传媒檇 even been through a breast cancer scare, but still no pap smear. It乌鸦传媒檚 hard to know how long I乌鸦传媒檝e had this tumour. Even as I was getting more and more ill over the past seven or eight months, the thought of cervical cancer never crossed my mind.

Honestly.

Over the past month, I haven乌鸦传媒檛 just been sitting around waiting for treatment. I乌鸦传媒檝e learned things about the disease that every woman should know. We don乌鸦传媒檛 talk about cervical cancer like we do about breast cancer. Perhaps because when we go to the doctor and do the routine screening, it乌鸦传媒檚 caught early enough that we barely have to miss a day of work. Cervical cancer is a slow-growing one, after all, with no early symptoms.

From chatting with friends, I乌鸦传媒檝e learned I乌鸦传媒檓 not alone in forgoing that annual or bi-annual exam. For this reason alone, I乌鸦传媒檓 eager to share what I乌鸦传媒檓 learning with everyone, because as the commercials currently on TV right now say: 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檇 rather be anywhere than here.乌鸦传媒�

And 乌鸦传媒渉ere乌鸦传媒� so far in my journey is countless, painful internal exams, multiple trips to the ER, endless imaging appointments including MRIs, CT scans and even a PET scan in Vancouver. It乌鸦传媒檚 meant consults and hospital tours, all in Abbotsford乌鸦传媒檚 beautiful cancer clinic. It乌鸦传媒檚 included days spent in bed, hours spent in a hot bath in agony from the inside out, thousands of trips to the washroom, a binder that grows with medical paperwork by the week, medication I乌鸦传媒檝e never heard of, and arms and hands covered in bruises from injections and blood work.

It乌鸦传媒檚 given me my first tattoos, three tiny marks around my hips and pelvis to line me up with the radiation machine.

It乌鸦传媒檚 involved tears, but also love and warmth from friends and family. It乌鸦传媒檚 included access to fast testing, immediate results, and caring doctors and nurses. Each note of positivity, each card in the mail, each kindness to my family, has given us reasons to smile in a time when we could easily retreat into darkness. Yes, this is a world I want to stay in, for as long as possible.

In a few months, I will be post-treatment and looking toward a long life once again. But it didn乌鸦传媒檛 have to be this dramatic, this fraught with emotion and risks and side effects. It could have been caught sooner had I been more pro-active.

So please, book your screening and talk to your doctor about other cancer risks.

Jessica Peters is a reporter with The Chilliwack Progress