A JHAH Patient Speaks Out About Cervical Cancer Screening
December 18, 2025
Mariam Al Dossary, who survived cervical cancer, says regular screening tests are a “no-brainer” and could save your life.
“I knew something was wrong,” Mariam Al Dossary says of the symptoms she began experiencing two years ago. “It was only little symptoms here and there, but I thought, ‘this is not me, this is not how my body should feel’.”
Mariam, then 38 years old, says her first doctor, who was outside of Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH), “wrote it off as a simple inflammation” and prescribed anti-inflammatories. But her symptoms got worse. After conferring with her husband, Mariam decided to seek a second opinion. Her next doctor conducted a series of tests to check for cervical cancer and ultimately referred Mariam for a biopsy.
“The consultant who performed the biopsy did so by conducting a hysteroscopy,” Mariam recalls.
My doctor was present in the room at the time, and not long after the procedure began, I saw her expression change. So, I knew something was wrong. A couple of weeks later, I went to see the consultant, and he told me it was cancer.
Screening: ‘A no-brainer — maybe, a lifesaver’
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women globally and causes around 350,000 deaths every year, according to the World Health Organization. The cancer develops in some women carrying the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause abnormal cell changes in the cervix.
These cell changes can be detected early — and before they turn into cancer — by HPV tests, which involve taking a small sample of cells from the cervix and testing them in a laboratory for the presence of the virus. JHAH recommends that sexually active women between the ages of 21 and 64 have an HPV test every five years. Each test takes a matter of minutes.
If a test detects the presence of HPV, physicians will carry out further testing. This might include a biopsy, which involves taking a tissue sample from the cervix and checking it for the presence of cancer cells.
“There is something important I want to say about tests and screening,”
Maryam Says
Sometimes the results come back negative. But you should keep going back for more tests — especially if, like me, you feel like something is wrong in your body. Don’t ignore it, don’t wait for it to get better.
With screening tests, there is so much less to worry about than you might think. It’s maybe a little uncomfortable to get screened, but it’s not painful, and it doesn’t take long. If it helps to detect a problem that could later turn into cancer, then it’s an absolute no-brainer — and maybe, a lifesaver.
“Yes, life gets busy, and yes, sometimes we can try to deny the truth. Maybe a part of us feels afraid, even though we shouldn’t. But this is your life, this is your health, so you must take the initiative — for your family as much as for yourself.”
Mariam says she was “shocked” when she heard the result of her biopsy. “It didn’t feel real. I felt I was in a movie and someone else was receiving the bad news, not me. My hands started shaking, yet I didn’t really feel any emotion.”
She says the consultant “held my hand and told me everything would be OK. Then he told me that a JHAH doctor would be taking over my case. It made me so happy to hear this.”
Mariam’s journey from treatment to recovery
Mariam was referred to Dr. Turky Rujaib, a gynecologic oncology consultant at JHAH. She says: “When we went to meet him for the first time, he’d already gone through my file and understood my case. He sat us down, my husband and I, and explained everything in detail: ‘This is what you have, this is your situation now — and be reassured, because this is your solution’.” He was incredibly calm and confident. He drew us pictures to help us understand.
He instilled this calmness in me. I felt I was in very good, safe hands. He just made everything feel better.
For the next month, Mariam underwent further testing as she prepared for surgery, including MRI scans, X-rays, and bloods. In March this year, she entered the operating room to undergo a radical hysterectomy — a surgical procedure to remove her womb and cervix.
“I was shaking all over,” Mariam recalls. “Then Dr. Turky came in. He started doing a roll call for all the doctors and nurses who were meant to be in the OR, and everybody answered ‘here.’ Then he called out: ‘Patient Mariam — not here.’ I shouted ‘I’m here! I’m here!’ and everybody started laughing. Then I was no longer worried about what was happening. I think he saw my hands shaking and knew he needed to calm me down.”
When Mariam woke up, her husband and two daughters were by her bedside. Three days later, she was able to leave her bed and walk around her room. She was discharged two days later.
“Today, I feel wonderful,” Mariam says. “I couldn’t be better mentally and physically. Fundamentally, I’m glad that God had this plan for me, and had my file transferred to JHAH.”