Preston mum in remission for ovarian cancer urges women to pay attention to their bodies

29-year-old Sarah Stables, a single mother of one from Preston, was diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer when she was just 26.

Although she is in the clear for now, the disease has meant Sarah is now going through the menopause before the age of thirty, and is likely to have cancer again in the future.

The full time mum has spoken to the Post about her journey so far, and why she thinks more awareness is needed.

What were Sarah’s symptoms?

In late 2018, Sarah began experiencing various problems with her body, but she ignored them and never went to the doctor.

Sarah explained: “I hadn’t had a period for months, but I was getting period pains, and I couldn't physically eat food, I was getting forced to eat a mouthful. I'd go for a wee and then five minutes later, I was having to go again, that constant pressure in your stomach. And I'm only a small thing so my body went from being really skinny to having the biggest stomach ulcer because my tumour had swollen outwards, but I didn't think anything of it, I kind of just ignored it and things like that shouldn't be ignored.”

What was Sarah’s diagnostic journey like?

Sarah, who has an eight-year-old son, said: “In January 2019, I was up throughout the night with severe stomach aches. I woke up at about half four in the morning, and I couldn't physically stand up with the pain.”

After being rushed to Royal Preston Hospital, Sarah spent a week there, and in the beginning of February, was told her scans showed a mass on her ovary, which the hospital believed was a ruptured cyst. At this point, no biopsy was taken and she was sent home.

Sarah said: “They brushed it off as a cyst and then in April, two months later, I was rushed back in because my body was oddly shaped and I couldn't physically breathe properly. It turned out that the tumour had grown that much, it had pushed my insides up underneath my rib cage.

“At that point, they sent me for a surgery to have one ovary taken out and when the results came back, it was obviously riddled with cancer so then I had to go to have another surgery to have the full hysterectomy in June 2019.”

How did Sarah feel following her diagnosis?

Sarah said: “I was numb, it didn't really affect me until I got older. At the time, I just thought these are my cards, I've just got to play the game I’ve been given.

“Now, I’m more mournful because it was one of those things that could have been sorted when I was first seen. I probably wouldn’t have had to have had a full hysterectomy and the chance of having more children taken away from me, if it was found two months earlier, so it was heartbreaking but I’m lucky to still be here.”

What is Sarah’s situation now?

Although currently in the clear, Sarah gets checked every three to six months as she has been told her cancer is the type to return in future.

Sarah has found comfort in her Macmillan Cancer nurse, and she is a member of Facebook support groups to help with the menopause.

Throughout her cancer journey, Sarah says she has been struck by the lack of “information out there for ovarian cancer”, particularly how hard it is to be diagnosed.

Sarah explained: “I spoke with my Macmillan nurse about it and she said herself that nobody really knows about ovarian cancer until it hits you.

“I had a smear test in the December and two months later I was in hospital with severe pain and three months later, I had ovarian cancer. There's no tests out there for ovarian cancer, all you can go off is your symptoms.

“Women need to be more aware of their bodies because it could be a factor like your appetite changes, you drop weight, you're putting on weight or you're bloated. It might be nothing but then it could be something, for example I thought my bellyache could be something like IBS so I was just ignoring it but then months down the line, it was serious.”

“It's just scary, I want to raise awareness because diagnosis always comes from the symptoms that I’d been having for months and months that I just ignored so please don’t.”

What have the hospital said?

A Lancashire Teaching Hospitals spokesperson said: “ Whilst we cannot discuss the specifics of individual cases, patients with specific or non-specific symptoms of cancer should always report them to healthcare professionals as soon as they can. There are clear NICE guidelines on ‘suspected cancer: recognition and referral’ which is available online here: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng12.

“The Trust is an accredited NHS England Gynaecological Cancer Centre with specialist surgeons, medical/clinical oncologists, radiologists, pathologists and specialist nurses available to support women with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

“We appreciate that women with cancer, who have not completed their family, face very difficult decisions with respect to their fertility when embarking on cancer treatments and we fully discuss their options with them at the time.

“We work closely with specialist reproductive medicine (IVF) centres to facilitate egg collection and egg/embryo freezing before cancer treatment where this is in line with a patient’s wishes.”

Where else can you learn more?

The NHS website has a clear information guide for ovarian cancer, including symptons to look out for and treatment options. Visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/ovarian-cancer/symptoms/ to find out more.

For information about the menopause, you can also try the NHS, as well as sites such as the menopausecharity.org or even Boots online.