I am a proud survivor of cervical cancer. I am sharing my story as an example of exactly why women should get screened and vaccinated.

Sheer embarrassment about the smear test meant I only got mine done a year late at 26, after experiencing pain and bleeding. Really, I had nothing to worry about - the test itself is only slightly uncomfortable and takes 10 seconds.

The results detected abnormal cells in my cervix, and after further tests I received my cancer diagnosis on July 19, 2012. I’ll always remember the doctor’s words: ‘I am sorry to tell you this Kim but you have cancer.’

The next few weeks were a whirlwind of scans, tests and hospital appointments.

I had surgery for a radical hysterectomy on September 3, 2012. I said my goodbyes to my family before going into the theatre, and all I remember afterwards was the burning pain - I was in more bits than a box of Lego!

I got the all-clear on September 24, but that wasn’t the end of it. I still had to deal with the after-effects - bowel issues, fibromyalgia, early menopause and further surgeries, along with the reality that I can’t have any more children.

There have been positives to my story. Despite all of these difficulties I graduated with my BSc, and set up a support network for cervical cancer in Ireland - my pride and joy!

The whole point of telling you this is to show how avoidable it all is. I was too late to receive my vaccine, a vaccine that has been proven safe time and again. As long as I’m here, I will continue to advocate for it.

No woman should go through what I have experienced and am still going through.  So please, please get the HPV vaccine and attend your smears.