'Fobbed off, misdiagnosed and ignored': Why hundreds of women are sharing their cancer stories

• 'Women's experience are dreadful and we get ignored all the time'

Ceri Davis, 53, will be on chemotherapy for the rest of her life.

Jessica Mason, 43, can never have the second child she wanted.

Ceri is living with incurable cervical cancer after being misdiagnosed for years.

Jessica was forced into an early menopause and had a hysterectomy to survive her cervical cancer, also repeatedly misdiagnosed.

Two women who feel they were "fobbed off" every time they went to their GP with symptoms of a life-threatening disease.

Two of more than 200 women and families affected by gynaecological cancers who have shared their experiences of being let down with a campaign highlighting poor outcomes in Wales.

Mother-of-two Ceri was misdiagnosed with a slipped contraceptive coil, fibroid issues and menopause pill side effects before she was finally told it was cancer.

She does not know how long she has.

"I look at my children and they finish me off all the time because I think what's life going to be like for them one day? But I can't do anything about it," she said.

"It's just fighting to stay as long as I can now isn't it? It just seems cruel, it's really cruel for them and my family, my mum, my sister, my dad and my husband.

"I'll take everything that I can and I will throw everything I can at it anyway. I've got two children, one's only just 15, I want to see him turn 18, then I want to see him turn 21. The likelihood is slim I know, but you've got to hope."

Ceri's eldest son, Toby, 19, said his mother has been incredibly brave.

"I wish she realised how - I mean she probably does know deep down how brave she is - because she is, she is so brave.

"She likes to be a bit humble and not really show it but I know how strong she is and I think if anyone can probably get through stuff it's her."

Ceri said doctors ruled out the prospect of her having cervical cancer because she had recently received a clear smear test.

"If I'd have known that you could still have clear smears and still have cervical cancer, maybe I would've pushed harder, maybe if my GPs had thought about it they would've pushed harder.

"Nobody considered that it could be something more serious, I think that's my main issue.

"Because they didn't consider it, they're the experts, I'm not a medical person, I didn't consider it either because you just trust what people tell you really."

Jessica, from Penarth, was also misdiagnosed with an infection, a prolapse and endometriosis before finally being told that she had a 6.5 inch tumour in her cervix.

The mother-of-one endured months of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and brachytherapy before being forced into an early menopause and undergoing a radical hysterectomy.

The treatment destroyed her and husband Dan's plans to have a child together.

"To have that option taken away from you and not have the choice, that made me really mad, upset, but more mad than anything because I think this could've been avoided, all of it, if I'd just been listened to three, four, five years ago.

Dan added: "I'm not a doctor, I wouldn't have said it was cancer but we knew it was something and you [Jessica] were being fobbed off a lot.

"We should've just been banging the door until they listened, because we waited and waited and waited, and you could've lost your life."

Jessica said the whole ordeal has left both mental and physical scars, with her and Dan no longer as sociable as they used to be.

She added that experiencing the menopause early has made her feel isolated from people her own age.

"I've got aches and pains, sometimes I can't walk properly, sometimes I don't want to get out of bed for a couple of days," she said.

"The scarring makes me very paranoid of being out in public, thinking people are looking at me.

"I'm cancer-free, which I'm forever grateful for, but the aftermath of it never really goes."

In May, Claire O'Shea, from Cardiff, launched Claire's Campaign after being diagnosed with incurable cancer in her womb almost two years after first raising symptoms with her GP.

She was inspired to set up the campaign after first sharing her story on ITV Wales and being inundated with messages from women with similar "awful" tales.

Claire's Campaign, supported by Tenovus Cancer Care, aims to change policy and shift the culture of disregarding women's voices in healthcare settings - an issue highlighted in a Senedd inquiry in December.

Despite that report, latest figures show that in June just 38.7% of gynaecological cancer patients in Wales started treatment on time.

Gynaecological cancers are cancers that develop in the reproductive organs and include cancers in the cervix, ovaries, uterus, vagina, vulva, and fallopian tubes.

Around 1,200 people a year are diagnosed with gynaecological cancers in Wales.

Senedd members, charities and families have expressed disappointment at the Welsh Government's response.

The Welsh Government has said it is disappointed to hear about these experiences and it expects the NHS to address the issues raised.

It has launched a £2m national programme to improve performance for gynaecological, urological and lower gastrointestinal cancers.

It added that health boards need to do more to improve services.

Symptoms of cervical cancer include:

• vaginal bleeding that's unusual for you - including bleeding during or after sex, between your periods or after the menopause, or having heavier periods than usual

• changes to your vaginal discharge

• pain during sex

• pain in your lower back, between your hip bones (pelvis), or in your lower tummy

Judi Rhys MBE, chief executive of Tenovus Cancer Care, said Claire's Campaign is helping to "amplify the voices of hundreds of women".

"We applaud Ceri and Jessica for following Claire's lead and talking so candidly about their own poor experiences on ITV Wales.

"We also remember Judith Rowlands who, resolute to the end, tragically passed away last year just days after delivering powerful testimony to the Senedd's inquiry into gynaecological cancers.

"All these women, with their courage and conviction, have also come from a selfless place of not wanting another woman - another family - to go through their trauma and pain.

"Claire's wish is for every woman who visits their GP to be heard, their gynaecological cancer caught early, their treatment delivered within targets, and their lives saved. But there is no magic wand.

"Today, we call on the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to ensure gynaecological cancer - all cancer - remains a top priority, despite changes to Welsh Government leadership, and that the recommendations of the report are acted upon."

Those who wish to share their experience or a family member's experience of gynaecological cancer can submit their story to Claire's Campaign here.

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