Ellie Leach has opened up about her relief after having pre-cancerous cells removed from her cervix, using the experience to urge her followers to keep up with their smear tests.
The former Coronation Street actress, 25, shared a detailed video on TikTok walking through her journey, which began when her first ever smear test found she was HPV positive with high grade pre-cancerous cells. A colposcopy and biopsy confirmed the results, and she then underwent a LLETZ procedure, which removes abnormal pre-cancerous cells from the cervix using a heated wire loop with an electric current.
Leach shared a video on the day of the procedure, saying she was a little nervous but expected to be fine ahead of the local anesthetic. Updating followers afterward, she described the anesthetic injection as uncomfortable and said she unexpectedly became emotional during the procedure.
She told her followers that she suddenly felt overwhelmed and started crying, and that a nurse reassured her throughout. She said she believes the emotion came from months of uncertainty finally resolving. The medical team, she said, made her feel really comfortable.
When her results arrived, Leach confirmed that doctors had successfully removed the cells, which were classified as CIN1 and CIN2, exactly what had been expected. She said she now has to attend another smear in six months.
Leach said the experience reinforced how important it is to attend smear tests, noting they can genuinely save lives. She said that without her initial test, she would never have known about the pre-cancerous cells, and urged her followers to go for their tests even if they sometimes feel uncomfortable.
