‘I have a preliminary stage of cervical cancer’

April 10, 2022 Luisa Rey

Romy Boomsma is open on Instagram about how her health is going. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to share her story, but she does. If only to warn other women.

“I hope, by sharing my story, that someone will fish the call for the population screening out of the kitchen drawer and be there in time.”

Last year Romy turned 30: then every woman will receive an invitation to have a smear made. She is the mother of three children: daughter Bobby Jo, son Mozes and daughter Juniper. Because she had no complaints, Romy simply left the letter for the cervical cancer research. When she read a story on Instagram about cervical cancer without any complaints, she decided to go to the doctor. And her rash wasn’t what it should have been either.

Waiting too long

“The gynecologist there suspected at first glance that it would be nothing serious and that it was about slightly abnormal cells, which had also emerged from my smear. She took a biopsy and two weeks later I was called with the results: it was a preliminary stage of cervical cancer.”

She has now undergone a treatment, a loop excision. During a loop excision, the gynecologist removes a layer of the cervix where the troubled cells have been found. Romy: “Hopefully everything is clean now and no further treatment is needed, I will get the results in two weeks. But maybe, by sharing my story now, the population screening call will be fished out of a kitchen drawer or re-applied so that someone else will be there in time. If you are not yet 30, with the knowledge I now have, I would always request a smear on my own initiative before that time. Because even without complaints you can turn out to have a pre-stage of cervical cancer and being there on time can make all the difference. If you are afraid of having a Pap smear, you can also request a self-sampling test. If something abnormal is found, you can still be referred for further research, but in most cases the result is just good.”

How very annoying and sad for her and her family, we wish her all the best and keep our fingers crossed for a positive result.