Caroline had only been retired for a couple of years when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 64 in February 2016. Sadly, she passed away in March 2018. Caroline was married to Ralph for 40 years and had three children, the eldest James, then Zoe and her youngest daughter Beth. At the time of her death, she also had two grandchildren, Finlay and Theo. After Caroline died, Zoe set up a tribute page in memory of her mum to raise funds for Target Ovarian Cancer. She wants to celebrate her mum’s fighting spirit throughout her treatment and urges anyone who has concerns about their symptoms to seek out a second opinion if needed.
Our mum was an amazing, practical and creative person, there was nothing she couldn’t do. She loved being at home, in a house she had renovated from a shell, and in the garden, which was always beautiful and full of flowers. She was always there for her family, and she supported us with every aspect of our lives, cheering us on.
When grandchildren came along this was added joy and she was also the best grandma in the world, her grandsons adored her and still talk and remember her now, despite being very little when she died.
Mum would always say her biggest achievement was her children, but she was extremely talented. She was an amazing seamstress, could do all DIY, plumbing, building, tiling, and went back to university in her 50s to gain a business administration degree to support her career in school.
In February 2016 Mum had no symptoms apart from severe tiredness which her GP put down to age when she visited the doctor’s surgery about it. She then developed some bloating and felt the tumour herself.
She returned to the GP and this resulted in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer which was at stage 4 as it had spread to her lymph nodes.
Mum was always disappointed that the cancer was found so late and wished her severe tiredness had been linked to cancer, especially as she was so proactive in going to the doctor about this and had always looked after her health.
The original prognosis was extremely poor and chemotherapy was offered to halt the disease, but doctors she saw initially were quite negative and said she would only have six months to live.
She requested a second opinion and was seen by a team at a teaching hospital, St James’ in Leeds, instead. Once she got to that hospital the language was much more positive and my Mum put herself forward for clinical trials.
She was successful in obtaining bevacizumab through a trial, alongside chemotherapy. She responded well to this first line treatment and having initially been told the cancer was inoperable she was able to have an operation in June 2016 which removed the majority of the remaining cancer. This was followed by more chemotherapy and in October 2016 we received the best news of our lives that she was in remission.
Sadly, the cancer did come back quickly but Mum kept battling and had further chemotherapy. In December 2016 we were told she carried the BRCA2 gene, which had more than likely caused the cancer.
This was another devastating blow and a surprise as there was not a history of ovarian or breast cancer in the family, but it did enable family to get tested, which has ultimately saved lives. My Mum was always thankful she could prevent the same thing happening to her loved ones.
Mum responded well to further chemotherapy, and it kept the cancer at bay until the autumn of 2017. Despite starting another trial drug, a PARP inhibitor which was having a positive impact, she started to be affected by low blood counts and recurring infections which limited the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
This continued into the new year of 2018, and we could now see the toll it was taking on Mum. She continued to live every day to her best though and sought out complementary treatments such as meditation and reflexology to manage her symptoms.
She died on 9 March 2018 with her family around her. It was peaceful and we took comfort by the fact she had fought so hard and explored all treatment options before she died, supported by an amazing hospital and the staff there.
Our Mum had to seek out treatment, which we feel is wrong, and we want to see more options available to women from the outset.
We set up a page to raise funds for Target Ovarian Cancer because we feel more can be done to raise awareness and support. We want to see more options available to women from the outset.
Our Mum was the best, we miss her every day, but she also made us incredibly strong and instilled the importance of family which we carry forward, looking out for each other and having as much fun as possible together.
We’re so proud of how she dealt with her illness, she never complained or felt sorry for herself but always focused on what she could do next, always positive, and always looking out for us.
We’re still aware and passionate about advocating for better treatments and options for carriers of the gene and those who are diagnosed with cancer.
If you’ve been affected by this story and would like to speak to a specialist nurse, you can call our dedicated support line on 020 7923 5475 or contact us: [email protected]. We're open from 9am until 5pm, Monday to Friday.
If reading this story has helped you, join the Ovarian Cancer Community to connect with more people affected by ovarian cancer: www.targetovariancancer.org.uk/onlinecommunity
