My mum had ovarian cancer. Her symptoms were completely different to mine though, so when I started experiencing my own symptoms, I just never equated the two.
Humbug
Initially I put my symptoms down to the menopause. I was 52 years old and struggling with fatigue, weight gain around my middle and weeing more often – something which was quite awkward because I was working as a teaching assistant and stuck in a classroom all day.
Over the next few months, my waistline kept getting bigger and bigger. Then, during a holiday that summer, I was rubbing sun cream on my tummy and I suddenly felt a lump; the realisation sent a chill down my spine. By the time I went back to school that Autumn I’d gone up a dress size and my tummy was so bloated I looked about six months pregnant.
One day, I came home from work exhausted and as I lay on my bed my cat, Humbug, jumped on my belly and the sensation caused me to cry out in pain. My husband ran in to check I was okay and when he felt the lump he told me to make an appointment to go and see the GP. Looking back, if it hadn't been for Humbug, I would have ignored my symptoms. She saved my life.
Moving fast
My GP told me that I had a mass but made no mention of ovarian cancer. I took this as a positive sign and my hopes were boosted even more when my CA125 blood test came back normal, and the nurse said, “It can’t be ovarian cancer”. So, although I had a 17cm mass on right ovary, I was quite laid back about it – after all, I knew it wasn’t cancer - a nurse had told me so.
But despite my jubilation, when I received an appointment for the Macmillan Centre, I started to feel uneasy. During that appointment I was told I was 90% likely to have ovarian cancer. I just remember saying “well I'm going to be the 10% then”. I tried my best to remain positive.
Things moved fast after that. I had a radical hysterectomy – ending up with the same surgeon and on the same ward as when my mum was undergoing treatment.
A few weeks later the doctors confirmed that I did indeed have ovarian cancer. Everything crumbled. I was officially diagnosed with mucinous cancer, a rare form of ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, this meant that most of the information available to me was quite generic – something which often made me feel quite isolated.
I also struggled with the fact that whilst I didn’t end up needing chemotherapy my friends would all tell me how great it was that I didn’t need chemo. All I could think was, ‘yes, but I've still got cancer’.
Since then, my treatment has involved having regular checkups and CA125 blood tests. This is often quite difficult for me because my CA125 levels have always been so normal, so it feels worrying that my check-ups rely on this.
Mum
I found Target Ovarian Cancer about a year after diagnosis. Seeing them trying to fundraise for new treatments and push things forwards really gives me hope. Just after my diagnosis my mum passed away after a recurrence of her ovarian cancer. That was hugely difficult to cope with, and part of the reason I got in touch with Target Ovarian Cancer about sharing my story. I find it quite therapeutic because it’s given me a way of moving forwards.
To me, mum was always so brave. She’d say, ‘everything that can be done is being done, so what's the point of worrying.’ She’s the reason I was so determined to be positive throughout my own diagnosis. That’s how my mum always dealt with it.
I owe it to her and everybody else to help spread the word.
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 5.30pm, 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
