My story is not unusual, so many women find out they have ovarian cancer at a late stage. Even as a GP myself, I had not connected the milder symptoms together and considered it- or maybe I was scared to even think it could be. 

I started to feel tired early in 2015, it was winter, I was just 46, a GP with a busy family life, but everyone seemed tired, so it was probably normal. 

Over the next few months I had occasional urinary problems, needing to go urgently or too often. Really disruptive in a busy surgery, but it came and went- probably the perimenopause. 

By April I was exhausted, life was busy, there were occasional abdominal pains, maybe I was more constipated, bloated, maybe just not eaten enough fibre…. probably nothing. 

I went to my GP again in June, I thought I could feel a lump in my left lower abdomen, I had pain there on and off. I was reassured that she wasn’t worried, but she ordered an Ultrasound for reassurance. I was too busy to stop, life was hectic, I was needed at work and at home.  

We were away the week of the scan, I struggled to sleep, sit comfortably and the pain was now constant. I didn’t think about what was going on, just wanted the family to have a holiday, I’d deal with it when I came home. The ultrasound was late on a Friday afternoon, the rest of the family went off shopping, I went in for the scan. The sonographer placed the probe on my abdomen- the world stopped- immediately I knew- a complex 11cm ovarian cyst where I could feel a lump….The sonographer was kind and compassionate as I cried,  I walked out in the sunshine-I started wondering how I could tell my family that I had advanced cancer…

GPs probably only see one ovarian cancer every five years, but see several people with bloating, urinary symptoms and abdominal pain every week. After all, doctors in training are told ‘if you hear hooves it’s probably horses not zebras.’  

I was lucky and had excellent care after that awful moment in ultrasound. I’m still alive! and am now Chair of Bright Tights, a charity with three aims- to support those with gynae cancer, to educate about gynae cancer and to support research into these rare cancers.  

I’m still alive, aiming to use this bonus time productively and positively- and have fun! So I have three challenges. 

1. My challenge to us a community is to give ourselves time to stop, once a month, use The Eve Appeal monthly text reminder. To me it’s ‘Stop, Breathe, Bush and Bits’. If only I had stopped and really thought ‘How am I, mentally and physically? What do I need to do to keep myself well, is there anything I need to check out or habits I need to change’? 

2. My challenge to GPs is that yes, its true common things are just that, common, but how can we help you spot the zebras? What are the evidence-based ways we can improve this? 

3. My challenges to those in research are to continue working so hard in prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment options. Please consider those of us without the common two genetic alteration. Please consider the ‘why’ we get ovarian cancer- after I was discovered not to have any family history or gene alteration, no-one seemed interested in why, maybe the why will help us find better prevention or management of risk.