Dot’s Journey: living well after ovarian cancer

The word cancer is frightening full stop and the first time around I couldn’t wait for an operation. I was being told in the October of 2015, that I would be operated on in the New Year, but I told the doctors there and then I couldn’t wait that long. I could barely breathe, my stomach had become hugely swollen. It was hard for me to move off of the sofa and I couldn’t get a breath. 

When it recurred in 2020, I knew I was fighting for my life again by asking for a second opinion regarding getting an operation to remove the cancer for a second time.

I was on the cusp of being five years clear when I noticed the same pain in my stomach while doing a food shop. I could barely walk with the pain. I called my GP right away and was referred again to oncology. Fortunately, they still had my records and I was examined straight away.

This was a really tough period and mentally and emotionally I went downhill because things seemed so uncertain. It was during Covid in the hospital and there was a lack of surgeons in Glasgow doing the kind of surgery I needed. The tumour had also grown very quickly within four weeks and I needed chemotherapy to reduce the tumour before anyone would operate.

The treatment 

Fortunately, a surgeon in London looked at my records and agreed to operate by June 2021. The surgeon was able to see exactly what she was dealing with – the cancer had been contained following chemotherapy and she was able to get all of it out. Then I was put on the Parp inhibitor drug Olaparib.

The mental and emotional impact of my second diagnosis hit me really hard, but Maggie’s helped me to learn to accept what was happening – that there could be help and they gave me hope. 

I am very fortunate that I am doing well on the Parp inhibitor drug. I have been on it for four years and I am able to live my life well with my husband, my children and grandchildren. My bloods are looked at every three months and research is being recorded about my case in order to allow oncologists to see how they are able to help other people.

How Maggie's shows support

When I had my secondary diagnosis, I came to Maggie’s to see Christina, one of the cancer support specialists right away. The great thing about Maggie’s is that there is no waiting times and you don’t have to make an appointment.

I knew I could just walk in and someone would see me and help me to calm down. I have actually had one-to one support from many members of the team, the Maggie’s cancer support specialists, Christina and Allison, and the clinical psychologist, Lorrie. They are all so professional and empathetic and have helped me to process what I was going through. I knew that everything I said in Maggie’s was confidential. 

Looking back, after my first diagnosis, I felt like I’d been holding my breath until I found Maggie’s. I didn’t realise I needed them and thought speaking to friends and family was enough, but there are things that you hold back from friends and family for fear of upsetting them. I definitely felt much better once I found Maggie’s because I could say exactly how I felt.

If anyone was ever worried about walking through the doors at Maggie’s, I would say to them there is nothing to worry about. I always leave Maggie’s feeling more hopeful.

Walking in to Maggie’s is like walking into someone’s arms. You know the staff there understand and they support you to feel stronger in yourself. At the time of my second diagnosis, they propped me back up to face the world again. 

Raising awareness with others

Being able to speak with others going through similar things is also really helpful, and I know I can do this at the Maggie’s ovarian cancer support group which runs the second Thursday of every month.

When I speak to women –  any women; family and friends and wherever I go, I try to raise awareness of ovarian cancer. It’s a cancer that’s not well known or spoken about and people often don’t know what the symptoms are.

I could be speaking to someone who’s doing my makeup for a wedding or a family member of any age, it does not matter, I will talk to them and say if you have anything untowards down below or if you’re bloated, or you’re going to the toilet too often – you must go to your GP and get checked out. 

These days everything is being put down to menopause but that’s not always what’s going on and the quicker checks are made the sooner women can get the help they need.

I would also say to women if they are not getting the answers they are looking for about the kinds of drugs they can have access to, or like when I thought I was not to get an operation for my second diagnosis, to always, ALWAYS ask for a second opinion. There is no harm in asking and it was a life or death situation for me. 

When I asked my consultant for a second opinion, I was told that there would always be someone who was willing to operate and that’s when I got my records assessed by a team in London and I finally got my operation down there. I’m so thankful for that and for all of the medical teams and Maggie’s staff who have helped me along the way. Without them, I wouldn’t be here.

We’re here with you

Our cancer support specialists, psychologists and benefits advisors are here for everyone with cancer, and all the people who love them. 

Come and see us at your nearest Maggie’s, call us on 0300 123 180 or email us at enquiries@maggies.org