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Topics: Film and TV, Health, Celebrity
Phoebe Tonks
Jersey Shore star Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi has opened up about her terrifying cancer ordeal, after she was diagnosed with Stage 1 cervical cancer after putting off her recommended pap smears.
The 38 year old had put off going to her regular Pap smear screenings for well over a year despite having received multiple results which indicated pre-cancerous cells in her tests prior to this.
They were ‘nothing crazy,’ she told PEOPLE, with her doctor recommending the tests every six months over the four years she experienced the abnormal results.
However, when the tests became more and more uncomfortable, she stopped going for them, leading to around 18 months where she remained unchecked for any dangerous changes.
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“I ended up not going for like a year and a half because it's uncomfortable, it's not fun.”
“I knew something bad could happen,” she admitted, “but instead of dealing with it, I just pretended it wasn't happening.”
When she did finally pluck up the courage to get tested again, the results were not what she had expected.
“My doctor was leaving me a voicemail screaming at me like, ‘You need to get in here. This is serious. You don't want it to escalate.' That's when I finally went in,” she said.
It was after this test that Snooki was diagnosed with cervical cancer which was likely to spread if left untreated.
"I had a breakdown,” she recalled. "I got to my car and I called my mom hysterically crying, thinking the worst.”
Thankfully however, despite the delay in diagnosis, Snooki’s case is thankfully treatable, with the reality star and proud mum of three, set to undergo a hysterectomy in the coming months.
“I'm not great with pain, so thinking about removing an organ is scary,” she admits. “That's a part of being a woman and even though I'm done having kids, the thought of not being able to really upset me. It messes with you a little bit.”
As part of her cancer journey, Snooki has been reaching out to her social media followers for support, after struggling to find someone in her real life that has gone through a similar cervical cancer journey.
“I don't know anyone personally that has gone through this. So being able to read people's comments definitely helped me to just know that I'm not alone and everything's gonna be fine,” she explained.
One good thing to have come out of the terrifying diagnosis is Snooki’s stronger relationship with her doctor, who she admits is someone she goes to see much more frequently now instead of procrastinating about her appointments.
“I talk to my doctor all the time now. I wanna be healthier,” she adds. “I'm just trying to be the best version of myself because I'm getting older and I wanna age gracefully.”
By speaking openly about her ordeal, she also hopes it will encourage other women to stop putting off their pap smears as it could save their life.
“I feel like nobody talks about cervical cancer,” she concluded. "The main point of me talking about this is for girls to get on their s--t and not do what I did… this is very preventable.”