Cervical cancer symptoms explained as Snooki announces diagnosis and issues plea to public

One of the most well-known stars from Jersey Shore and a number of spin-offs, Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi, has shared a devastating health diagnosis with her millions of followers.

The reality star shared the sad news on Friday that she had been diagnosed with 'Stage One' cervical cancer, showing her life as she headed off to various medical appointments to treat her adenocarcinoma.

After seeing abnormal pap smears for several years, the 38-year-old socialite and business owner said she underwent a cone biopsy, which removed a small piece of her cervical tissue to test for the cancer.

Though this revealed the early onset of her health condition, Snooki shared her relief, saying: "Obviously not the news that I was hoping for, but also not the worst news just because they caught it so early. Thank freaking God!"

This experience has caused Snooki to issue and appeal to the public to get checked. In her TikTok video, she said: "That's why I'm literally telling you guys to get your pap smears done. I'm 38 years old ... and now look at me.

"And instead of just putting it off because I didn't want to go and it hurt and I was scared, no, I just went and did it. And it was there, cancer is in there. But it's only stage 1 and it's curable."

Other than getting a smear test, one of the key red flags of cervical cancer is unusual vaginal bleeding, including after sexual intercourse or between periods and after menopause. This typically occurs because of a tumor growing in the cervix, placing extra pressure on surrounding blood vessels.

For the same reason, another major symptom is having heavier and longer lasting menstrual bleeding during your periods. These changes in your usual cycle might be dismissed as a heavy month, but can be an early alert to something more serious.

Another warning sign of cervical cancer to keep an eye out for is experiencing sudden changes in your vaginal discharge, including watery, bloody, heavy, and foul-smelling discharge.

This is caused by the presence of a tumor in your cervix, which damages the cervical tissue, causes this extra bleeding, and invites infection. This in turn causes more mucus production and the shedding of dead tissue - causing the significant discharge change.

The final key red flag that you should attend your next pap smear of appointment or book in to. get a cervical cancer screening is if you are experiencing pain in your lower back. Often this will be felt in your pelvis, or in your stomach.

People frequently experience this pain during regular sexual intercourse.

While it is important to keep an eye out for these red flags, it is worth remembering that these are not uncommon symptoms that can indicate a number of other conditions, or be the consequence of common issues like endometriosis or fibroids.