High-profile escort Lisa Lewis has opened up about her brush with cervical cancer and is prompting other woman to get checked regularly.
Lewis took to social media to share her journey after discovering an abnormality following a test last year.
"I had a regular smear test done, which showed some abnormality."
She said that "behind closed doors" she had "secretly been fighting a quiet battle".
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Advertise with NZME.Lewis became famous after streaking at an All Black rugby test and selling the bikini she'd worn on Trade Me.
She also gained notoriety as the country's first topless newsreader on the now defunct Alt TV channel.
After getting further tests done, Lewis discovered that both showed the presence of high-grade pre-cancerous cells.
She kept her results on the "down-low" and went in for a loop-excision procedure, which allowed surgeons to cut away the affected area of cervical tissue and leave behind the normal healthy aspect of the cervix.
"I spent the following two weeks bedridden and resting," she wrote.
Most cervical cancers are caused by HPV, a sexually transmitted infection that most people get at some point in their lives. The Government funds human papillomavirus vaccination for females and now males too - to age 26.
In February Lewis received a letter saying the procedure was carried out without complication and her surgeon was "confident that the pre-cancerous cells have all now been removed".
She now wants to encourage others to schedule a smear test.
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Advertise with NZME."Hairdressers constantly remind us to have a hair trim every 6-8 weeks and hair colour - I am here to tell you that ensuring cancer is not growing inside your body is more important than your hair."
