A mum who spent years fighting to be taken seriously about her own body has spoken out about losing trust in doctors after being diagnosed with cervical cancer far later than she believes she should have been.
Jessica Mason, 44, says she repeatedly returned to her GP and hospital appointments with painful swelling, vaginal bleeding and discomfort, only to be dismissed, misdiagnosed and sent away. It wasn’t until she broke down in tears and begged for further tests that doctors finally ordered a scan that revealed cancer requiring urgent treatment.
“I knew there was something wrong,” Jessica said. “But I wasn’t being believed.”
Jessica, from Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan, says her symptoms began worsening back in 2019. Despite clear warning signs, she was told at various points that she might have a cyst, endometriosis or prolapse, and was even advised to try pelvic floor exercises. Ultrasounds showed nothing concerning. A smear test six months before her diagnosis also came back clear.
Like so many women, Jessica trusted the system.
“You think if it was serious, they would have known,” she said. “That’s what makes it so confusing.”
But in May 2022, during an appointment at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, everything came to a head. After being told yet again that things “looked OK”, Jessica broke down and pleaded for doctors to look deeper.
Only then was she offered an MRI, something she believes was done simply to reassure her, not because her concerns were truly taken seriously.
Weeks later, the results came back. Jessica had stage 1 B3 cervical cancer. The tumour was over 4cm and required immediate treatment.
“Cancer didn’t even cross my mind,” she said. “I thought it might be an infection, not something life-changing.”
She began intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy in August 2022. The treatment was brutal, pushing her into early menopause and ending her hopes of having another child. It also took a heavy toll on her family, particularly her 13-year-old son.
“I couldn’t cook, clean, take him to school, even ironing his uniform felt impossible,” she said.
And the ordeal didn’t end there. A follow-up MRI in February 2023 showed the cancer was still present, meaning Jessica had to undergo a hysterectomy in July 2023.
That was the moment she says her faith in the medical system finally broke.
“It’s horrible because you have to trust doctors,” she said. “But now I question everything. I’m always wondering, what if they miss something again?”
Jessica now works only three days a week and says the physical and emotional impact has completely reshaped her life.
“My body is wrecked. Mentally too. Everything revolves around cancer, my family, my home, my friendships. It never really stops.”
She continues to experience bleeding and faces further biopsies, describing the anxiety as “never-ending”.
“I always have this fear in the back of my mind, what if they miss it again, and next time I don’t survive?”
Jessica has accused her health board of delaying access to her medical records as she considers legal action. She also believes earlier access to an MRI could have changed everything.
“The cost of that scan is probably no more than everything they spent on repeated appointments and treatment later,” she said.
Her experience comes as a Senedd health committee report found women in Wales are still being “let down” by failures in gynaecological cancer care. The report criticised the Welsh government for not acting fast enough on previous recommendations, failing to ring-fence funding, and missing cancer treatment targets.
Only 41% of patients started treatment within the 62-day target period, according to the findings, a figure charities have described as deeply alarming.
Jessica says her story reflects a wider problem in women’s healthcare.
“Women’s symptoms are too often brushed off as ‘women’s issues’ or ‘just your period’,” she said. “That dismissal can cost lives.”
A spokesperson for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said it was sorry to hear about Jessica’s experience but could not comment further due to ongoing legal proceedings.
The Welsh government said it is working with the NHS to improve outcomes for women with gynaecological cancer and acknowledged current performance is “not good enough”.
