A young woman said she was 'shell-shocked' when she found out her back pain was cervical cancer.
Gemma Brown, then 26, initially put the pain down to a new memory foam mattress she had purchased with her partner.
She developed back pain but brushed it off as her body adjusting to her new sleeping conditions.
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But after her mum, Julie, nagged her to see a GP - Gemma was later given the devastating news she had cervical cancer.
Gemma, now 30, is making a full recovery but went through the menopause at 27 and can never have children.
She has lasting and devastating damage from her diagnosis, but says she and her partner Michael have grown closer - and they now plan to get married.
Gemma, a travel agent from Derby, said: "Michael and I were in the honeymoon period of our relationship and buying the bed together was our first big purchase.
"I was excited when it arrived but within days the back pain started. I just blamed it on the new bed because it was a memory foam mattress.
"My mum eventually insisted I saw the doctor and I was shell-shocked when it was cancer.
"It’s been heart-breaking to find out I will never have a baby, but my illness has brought me and Michael closer together and now we’re planning to get married."
Gemma wants to make other women aware of her story, and she is urging people not to avoid their smear test appointments like she did.
"I want to make other women aware not to ignore smear test appointments. Don’t stick it on the fridge with a magnet like I did," she said.
Michael and Gemma met in June 2016 on a dating site and the following year they decided to buy their first double bed together, in preparation for moving into their first home.
"We got a memory foam mattress which I hadn’t tried before and so when my back pain started, I blamed the mattress," Gemma said.
"But my pain was getting worse, and I was taking lots of painkillers. My mum persuaded me to see the GP and I was sent for tests.
"I remembered I’d had a letter for a smear test which I hadn’t followed up because I’d been so busy at work."
In September 2017, Gemma was diagnosed with a rare form of cervical cancer.
"I was shell-shocked; I was a young woman, in a new relationship. I was told I couldn’t have kids which broke my heart, and I was worried how Michael would feel.
"I told him to leave me; I felt guilty that I couldn’t give him a baby. I couldn’t even have sex for a long time.
"He was incredible, he stood by me and refused to walk away."
Gemma underwent five rounds of chemotherapy, 25 rounds of radiotherapy and two brachytherapy treatments.
"The chemo was horrific. My parents and partner could hear my screams in the waiting room on the ward," she said.
The treatment was a success, but Gemma faced a series of side effects.
"I went through menopause at 27 years old and at 30 years old now I am just coming out the other side," she said.
"I can't hold my bladder or my bowels. I experience a lot of pain and weakness.
"But I am so lucky to be alive and so grateful for the Royal Derby Hospital for their support and the work they do."
In October, Gemma took part in a 14,000ft skydive to raise funds for the charities who supported her during her illness.
Michael proposed on Valentine’s Day 2018 a holiday to Fuerteventura, and they are planning to marry this year.
