Doctors give Nicole final all-clear on cancer

Alex de Vos
Torquay’s Nicole Paterson has “big plans” to set up her own cervical cancer foundation after doctors last week finally declared she had won her battle with the deadly disease.
The 22-year-old Jetstar flight attendant said she would dedicate the foundation to early detection and diagnosis of cervical cancer as well as inspiring sufferers to think positively.
“I believe positive thinking is the only thing that’s going to get you through it and, if you think you can fight it, you will,” Ms Paterson explained.
“I’m a true believer of the saying that everything happens for a reason and this happened to me because I’m such a positive person.
“Now it’s my turn to help others who might not be as positive.”
Ms Paterson, who captivated the region when she appeared in the public spotlight last year to reveal her battle for life, was diagnosed with cervical cancer a year ago.
She spent a year off work undergoing treatment and recovering from her life-threatening ordeal.
Ms Paterson finished treatment in July.
Earlier this year the Independent reported she had gone back to work feeling confident she had beaten the disease.
She received the best news of her life late last week when doctors declared her body was finally free of cancer.
“It was exactly this day last year that I was diagnosed with cervical cancer and one year later I’m cancer-free,” she reflected.
“I’m so excited – it’s the best news I could have ever got.”
Ms Paterson said she was now using her experiences to raise awareness and urge fellow women to undergo regular pap smears.
“Now that I’m a survivor I want to put it out there – get a pap smear and follow up with the abnormalities,” she stressed.
“Look at me, I’m so lucky because we got the cancer in the very early stages, the pap smear saved my life.
“If I had have let is go another year, I probably wouldn’t be here.
“It’s two minutes out of your life.”