Mum was 'refused NHS smear test 14 times as she wasn't 25' - but heavy bleeding was cervical cancer

Paige McCall first began to experience bleeding during her second trimester after falling pregnant with her first child Iris Mason, now 16 months, in November 2023.

When the persistent blood loss continued, she went to Doncaster Royal Infirmary in South Yorkshire for a check-up where she claims she was told her cervix was 'abnormal'.

Despite allegedly visiting the hospital eight times during her first pregnancy for the symptom, the now 23-year-old claims she was denied a smear test due to her age and being pregnant.

Even when she explained her family history of cervical cancer, the teaching assistant claims she was still not considered eligible for further testing. Paige claims when she fell pregnant with her second child six months after giving birth to Iris in July 2024, her heavy bleeding continued.

During this pregnancy, she visited the hospital six times for her blood loss, but again claims she was told she couldn't have a smear test because of her age. It was only when she 'stood her ground' in August this year at seven months pregnant that a male doctor finally put her forward for a biopsy.

But with the NHS appointment not scheduled until December, a worried Paige forked out £460 for private treatment and was diagnosed with stage two cervical cancer.

According to the NHS, cervical cancer is caused by an infection with certain high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV can be contracted from any skin-to-skin contact of the genital area, vaginal, anal or oral sex and sharing sex toys.

Paige is now speaking out about her experience as she claims that if she had waited until 25 for her first smear test, the cancer may have become a stage four diagnosis. She is now advocating for the smear test age to be lowered to at least 16 or be available to females when they become sexually active.

Paige, from Doncaster, said: "After my first trimester, I started bleeding very heavily so I was in and out of hospital. Every time a nurse, doctor or midwife checked my cervix they said there was something abnormal with it.

"They said they couldn't do anything because I was pregnant and under 25. I bled after [my first] birth which is normal but then I bled for months and months. It was back and forth getting told the same thing. I then fell pregnant with my second child when my little girl was six months old.

"Again, I was told there was something wrong with my cervix and I was bleeding throughout this pregnancy. I've got a very strong family history of cervical cancer. Every time they looked at me, I told them about my family history. One of my relatives died of it. I told them this every time and they still didn't give me a test.

"[At seven months pregnant] it took me standing my ground and one male doctor said I should at least get a biopsy. I found out on October 31st that I had stage two cervical cancer.

"The woman said that if I had waited until I was 25 to get my smear test, it would have possibly been stage four and you would have probably had a five-year lifespan after this. When I got told this, I didn't know what to say and I just stared at the wall. She also said she was glad I didn't wait until December for my biopsy either as cancer spreads rapidly and it could have been stage three by this point. It was a world upside-down moment."

Following her diagnosis on October 31st this year, Paige has opted for private treatment costing around £30,000.

So far, she has had 11 of her eggs frozen and will have her cervix removed and she has now started chemotherapy.

Paige said: "When I was pregnant with my daughter, I took pictures [of my bleeding]. The extent I was bleeding, it was awful. I was filling a pad every three hours. It was my first pregnancy so I didn't know everything, [so when I was bleeding], I said to my partner, I think I'm having a miscarriage.

"Every time I went, they scanned me and the baby was absolutely fine. I felt a bit pushed back. It was like, 'I know you're bleeding but your baby is fine, so you're fine'.

"On my [first] pregnancy notes, it was eight times I visited the hospital with bleeding and every time they checked my cervix and they blamed the abnormality for the bleeding.

"In my second pregnancy, I went six times for bleeding."

After chemotherapy, Paige should be cancer free but says there's a 60% chance of the condition returning. If this happens, she will have to have a hysterectomy which will leave her unable to have any more children.

Paige said: "It leaves me feeling angry that I've got to go to this extent to save my life. If it comes back, I don't have £30,000 every time. I would have to wait until the next time and it's scary. I'm glad my kids are young so they don't understand, but I'm going to lose my hair. I feel like a little bit of my dignity is going to be stripped away from me. I'm going to be ill and frail.

"If I wasn't a mum I would be dwelling on the fact that I had cancer, but the world doesn't stop because I have cancer. I've got two kids and they're keeping me going."

According to Cancer Research UK, a cervical screening or smear test is used to identify abnormal cells before they develop into cancer and is first issued to anyone with a cervix at 25 years old.

Since her diagnosis, Paige has now set up a petition to get the smear test age lowered and has also created a GoFundMe to help other young women access private care.

Paige said: "HPV is a cancer virus. I think as soon as you're sexually active, women should be able to get tested. I think kids now are having sex really young. My passion would be to give out smear tests when they become sexually active, but if not then, at 16. I think if you've got a strong family history, they should definitely do it [younger].

"I think women just need to advocate for themselves. Even if they need to refuse to leave a room. If I didn't stand my ground that day, I would have been brushed off like I was for a year and a half."

You can donate to Paige's GoFundMe here: https://gofund.me/5c100068c

You can sign Paige's petition here: https://c.org/BxPgTbQpbN

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Our sympathies go out to Paige - anyone who has symptoms should speak to their GP as soon as possible. We follow the advice of independent experts on screening who advise lowering the screening age would do more harm than good.

"The success of the HPV vaccination programme means cervical cancer is becoming very rare in younger women. We are expanding this further through our 10 Year Health Plan to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040."

A spokesperson from Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals said: "I am sorry to hear of Paige's experience and would welcome the opportunity to understand more about her care and the processes involved, so we can explore whether there were any missed opportunities and where we may be able to improve. We encourage Paige to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) so that we can listen, learn and provide support directly."