A ‘brave’ mother has died after being told her cervical cancer symptoms were a ‘normal’ side effect of her contraceptive injections.
Alexandra Hodson, 26, from Kirkham, Lancashire, was diagnosed with cervical cancer after attending the GP with a number of health problems.
The 26-year-old had been experiencing key symptoms of the disease including pain during intercourse, bleeding in between periods and after sex but was told by a nurse that her symptoms were ‘normal’ due to the contraceptive injection.
It wasn’t until after her first smear test in June 2018 that a tumour was found in Alexandra’s cervix and she began receiving radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Alexandra, mother to nine-year-old daughter, Ella, began radiotherapy and chemotherapy in July 2018.
In August 2019, Alexandra’s sister Nicola, from Preston, set up a fundraising page to get Alexandra immunotherapy but in April, her family were told it wasn’t working and that the cancer was terminal.
On August 8, Alexandra tragically died from her illness before her sister paid tribute to her on the GoFundMe page.
She said: ‘I never thought I’d be having to write an update like this and I wish I didn’t have to.
‘We sadly lost my beautiful sister Saturday 8th August. She was so brave, strong and determined and she fought to the very end.
‘We had the news in April that the immunotherapy had not been working and that Alexandra’s cancer was terminal which is why we turned off donations on the page.
‘It was completely heartbreaking and due to Covid we knew it meant that we would struggle to make some of the memories we would have liked to and to fulfill some of Alexandra’s bucket list.
‘We still managed to make memories as a family and we spent as much time together as we could.’
Nicola went on to thank those who had donated and supported her family through the difficult time.