"5 years of struggling, ending today in closure"

My story is likely going to be relatable to anyone thats suffered in silence due to shame or embarrassment of symptoms. I found what appeared to be lesions on my inner labia, transpired to be flatwarts. Over time, they had clustered and become quite prominent and started to affect my confidence and self esteem. I was disgusted that I allowed this to happen whilst in a long term relationship. Ive always been very conscious of STDs and took this as confirmation that I needed to reassess my trust in partners. When that relationship ended 5 years ago, I went completely introverted, stopped going out, stopped entertaining flirtation and accepted that I can be alone now. 

Then the magic happened. I went to Anderson house GUM clinic and met the most wonderful team of humans I could have imagined. Clar greeted me with a genuine smile and so much kindness, immediately putting me at ease. I had to go back for quite a few weeks so I got to meet Steven on my consecutive visits. Never have I been more at ease with a male nurse in my life. He became a highlight of my visits. The banter was so natural, and conversations were always brutally honest. Steven made me feel right at ease and reassured me when I was nervous. He went above and beyond, providing me with topical numbing and antibiotic to take home when the cryotherapy got a bit harsh, as well as providing me with the HPV vaccine (, this was very much appreciated).

Now for Lynne, what an earth angel that lady is. Lynne treated the area initially, and reassured me that I had nothing to worry about. Lynne took time to explain everything fully, answered any questions that I had and helped me realise that this is nothing to be embarrassed about. I've just come out from week 7 of treatment (I think it's week 7 anyway) and had an annoying skin tag treated with no further warts in sight. I have zero fear, embarrassment or shame about attending this clinic in the future. In fact, I would be 100% more likely to reach out to this team as opposed to my GP for anything related to sexual health. 

Too often, stigma and fear of perception will make us want to bury our head in the sand. I'm eternally grateful to the team in Anderson House for providing me with closure on this. It started as a simple treatment for warts but it ended with me feeling like I can have my life back. This doesn't need to follow me everywhere and knowing that is worth a million pounds. 

Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. I only got to say goodbye to Lynne today, but please know that I appreciate every single person that's been part of my journey here. You're all amazing and the service you provide is so important. I wish all clinics and services had angels like you there.