ABBY Vanstan is a 33-year-old graphic artist with her whole life ahead of her.But it wouldn’t have been if she hadn’t had her two-yearly pap smear in January.After three “hellish” months, a radical six-and-a-half hour operation and countless biopsies, scans and tests for cervical cancer, Abby has been given the all clear.And she is determined to help stop other women going through her ordeal.“I can’t stress how important it is to make sure you have your two yearly smear test,” Abby said.“It’s something you can do for your own health. And why wouldn’t you do it? Five minutes of your time is nothing compared to what I’ve been through.”Abby’s ordeal began with the abnormal test in January, despite all her previous tests being clear.A colposcopy – an advanced smear test – followed, which confirmed the smear test result of high grade abnormalities.“They just kept telling me it was fine, lots of women have this.”Abby then had a LEEP procedure which uses an electrical current to remove the abnormal cells.“I walked away thinking it was all fine and I could put it all behind me. A week later, my gynaecologist rang and said ‘I’m sorry to tell you this but you have cervical cancer’.”Abby was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in situ and was sent straight to a gynaecological oncologist in Melbourne.Because she was young and had no children, it was important for Abby and her medical team to try to preserve her fertility.After MRIs and PET scans, she was deemed suitable for a fertility sparing operation.A six-and-a-half hour radical trachelectomy and a lymph node dissection were performed at the Epworth Hospital on April 5, only a month after she was diagnosed.“I was warned it would be major surgery, and recovery would take at least six weeks. I spent eight days in hospital.”On her seventh night, while waiting for her vital pathology test results to come back, Abby made a promise to herself to promote pap screen awareness if she was given the all clear.“I was given the all clear and I didn’t have to have any chemotherapy or radiation. I was incredibly lucky.”Though she had to spend two months off work, she said it was a small price to pay for both her fertility and her life ahead.“If my story makes five people go and book in for a test, then that makes me happy.“If you’ve got symptoms, it’s often too late.”