Excited to start a new chapter, Georgina had a new place and job in Manchester, but within a year, her life turned upside down.
“It’s never really something you expect,” she told Manchester Evening News (MEN).
“You wouldn’t expect it at any age, especially when you’re fit and healthy, and I live a very healthy lifestyle.”
In September 2022, following an MRI scan and biopsy, Georgina was diagnosed with vaginal cancer.
“Looking back, I knew something wasn’t right,” Georgina reflected. “I had a bit of a weird gut feeling and at the time I couldn’t pinpoint what it was.
“I knew something was off. I was worried I was going to be ignored [by a doctor] but I knew my body best.
“Then I gradually started to get a few more symptoms; I found that I would need to go and pee more often.”
Georgina added: “Then I started to notice I would bleed after sex and it happened a few times.
“All those things combined, I thought there was obviously something and went to the doctors to check.”
Within two weeks of seeing a gynaecologist, Georgina was told she had vaginal cancer.
The NHS considers vaginal cancer to be “very rare”, which is “nearly always caused by an infection from certain types of the human papillomavirus (HPV)”.
Georgina began a seven-week course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, but a further scan revealed the cancer had spread to her neck, spine and liver.
“I think that probably the hardest [news to take],” Georgina shared. “Before that, you think, let’s do this and let’s get through the treatment.”
Describing the ordeal as a “shock to the system”, she is still undergoing treatment for cancer.
“I have a very good support system around me,” Georgina said. “I’ve taken time to process it.”
Georgina added: “I’m in a better mindset and cracking on with treatment and staying positive.”
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