A mother of two from Greater Manchester has said she believes her life could have been saved if she had been given a smear test on demand. Maxine Smith, 31, was diagnosed with incurable cervical cancer in November 2019 and claims she was denied a test despite reporting bleeding after sex.
Ms Smith, from Cheadle, said she visited doctors in 2016 complaining of bleeding but was told she could not have a smear test because she had one two years earlier. She said her symptoms were attributed to contraception problems. She was finally diagnosed in January 2018 after moving to Cheadle, where she was given a smear test on demand. A biopsy found a 3cm tumour on her cervix.
She underwent chemotherapy and a hysterectomy, and was told the cancer had gone. However, in November 2019, she learned the cancer had returned and spread to her lymph nodes and bowel. She has been told she has about three years to live.
Ms Smith is now calling for smear tests to be available on demand rather than every three years. She said: 'I believe I wouldn't be facing the horrors in my life now if I'd have been given a smear test on demand.' She is currently receiving chemotherapy to spend more time with her children, George, 6, and Mia, 5.
