A YOUNG mother with terminal cervical cancer is fighting to save the lives of other women by campaigning for the screening age to be lowered.

Twenty-one-year-old Jade Pateman, from Shildon, County Durham, was told she had between 18-months and two years to live when she received the devastating diagnosis in May.

But despite her anguish, she is determined to enjoy life with her two-year-old son, Oscar, and do everything she can to help other young women.

A week after her diagnosis, Miss Pateman launched a petition on change.org calling for the minimum age of cervical screening to be reduced from 25 to 20.

“If the screening age had been 20 I might have been diagnosed sooner and the cancer might not have spread,” said Miss Pateman, originally from Newton Aycliffe.

“When they said I only had 18-months to two years to live I didn’t get as upset as I thought I would but when I came home and thought about it I was heartbroken.

“Oscar is only two and will only be four when this happens.”

Cervical cancer develops in the entrance to the womb.

The condition often has no symptoms in its early stages but the most common is irregular bleeding, in between periods, after sex or after the menopause.

Miss Pateman began experiencing symptoms in February and was treated with antibiotics for an inflamed cervix.

However, this did not help and when further tests came back clear she was referred to a colposcopy clinic.

Cancer was detected and MRI and PET scans revealed a 6cm tumour on her cervix.

The cancer had spread into lymph nodes in Miss Pateman’s stomach, chest and neck, beyond the point where radiotherapy could help.

She now receives chemotherapy to prolong her life.

Miss Pateman said: “My little one is what keeps me going. I don’t want to mope around because Oscar might pick up that something is wrong with mum.

“I want to go out and create memories for me and his memory box. Family and friends have been so supportive.”

Women of all ages can develop cervical cancer and about 3,000 cases are diagnosed each year.

It is most common in sexually active women aged between 30 and 45 and rare in women under 25.

In 2003, the Advisory Committee on Cervical Cancer advised increasing the minimum screening age from 20 to 25.

Five years later, the NHS began offering 12 and 13-year-old girls the HPV vaccination to protect against the virus responsible for 99 per cent of cervical cancer cases.

A spokesperson from Public Health England said screening women under the age of 25 may do more harm than good.

“Women below the age of 25 often undergo natural and harmless changes in the cervix that screening would identify as cervical abnormalities,” she said.

“Despite this, cervical cancer is very rare in this age group. In most cases these abnormalities resolve themselves without any need for treatment. Research has shown if women suffer unnecessary treatment, this could have an adverse effect on their future childbearing.”

Robert Music, chief executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, said awareness was vital, adding: “It is crucial to see a GP straight away if suffering symptoms. For those under 25 who present with symptoms such as abnormal bleeding, the most common symptom of cervical cancer, there is an NHS pathway for GP’s to follow which aims to result in a faster route to diagnosis.”

A fun day to raise funds for Oscar’s future will take place at the Scout’s Centre in Bluebell Way, Newton Aycliffe, on Saturday, August 22 from noon.

Donations can also be made at crowdfunding.justgiving.com/jadeandoscars-angels-charity

To sign the petition, visit change.org/p/cervical-cancer-lower-the-age-of-screening-from-25-to-20

For more information about cervical cancer, visit jostrust.org.uk