Middlesbrough woman welcomes cervical cancer breakthrough
The new treatment cuts the death rate among patients by 40 percent
A Middlesbrough woman who survived cervical cancer is welcoming a breakthrough in treatment.
Experts have found that chemotherapy prior to chemoradiation cuts the death rate among patients by 40 percent.
There are now calls for the regime to be rolled out across the UK to prevent 860 people dying every year.
39 year-old Leanne Sewell was diagnosed at 26 after her first routine cervical smear test. She said: "I definitely think this should be available across the UK and internationally. It's important for women to have choices when they're diagnosed with something that's so frightening. I think giving them an option that takes away invasive surgery is just wonderful. It's going to give them so much confidence that things can get better.
"If you've just been diagnosed or if you're going through the process of repeat smear tests and colposcopy, to be able to read this news that there is research and that there is going to be new treatment available, it just gives you that glimmer of hope that it can get better and that you'll be able to move on to a new normal life.
"If you get your treatment early, you go for your smear tests, they're so important. People put them off for a reasons of emabrrassment or potentially pain. They really aren't as bad as what you think they will be before you've ever had one, but they're really important.
"If you keep up on your smear tests and you always report any symptoms to your GP, if you couple that with these new treatments and this news, it's just hope. Obviously the treatment available now wasn't available back then.
"There'll have been many women who are in my position in 2010-2011 that wouldn't have been as lucky to have the outcome that I did, but obviously with advanced treatment and regular testing and smear tests, it gives so much hope to people who are going through this situation right now. There's a lot of support available as well."