Jacqui's Story
It took over 6 months to get diagnosed

I guess we’d all like to think we’ll live to a ripe old age, don’t we? Well I did, until ovarian cancer came knocking on my door. It so turned my life upside down. I mean, it’s not been all bad…but equally it’s not been good either, so let me tell you more.

I’m Jacqui. I’m now 68. I was 65 when I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I didn’t feel old and they tell me the 60s are the new 50s: I considered myself to be no more than mid-50s in my head, to be honest. I was active and spent hours in my beautiful garden. It was just before Christmas 2019 when I was diagnosed. Yes, I hadn’t been feeling great for a few months, but to hear those three little words “you have cancer” hit me like an express train on an Olympic sprint. I’d heard of ovarian cancer, of course, but didn’t know a great deal about it, to be truthful. And as if having ovarian cancer wasn’t enough there was I and the whole world hurtling into a pandemic. I was terrified – what was this going to mean about treatment and how at risk would I be for contracting COVID.

By January 2020, I’d started my cocktail of chemotherapy drugs – Carboplatin & Paclitaxel and hid in my COVID bubble – that made it all the harder – those feelings of isolation –not able to go and freely breathe the sea air – yes, I am lucky to live near to the sea but seeing it was now a no go area. I coped with chemotherapy better than I had anticipated. Yes, my hair fell out – I knew this was going to happen and actually I didn’t feel as bad about it as I thought I would. I had some great fun with my daughter creating whole new images of myself in wigs.

6 firing rounds of chemotherapy later and an improved CT scan, life was looking a little brighter. I was now heading to debulking surgery. I’m not quite sure who came up with the title “debulking” – so unattractive – that might have been something I would have thought preferable had I wanted to lose weight, but not now with ovarian cancer. I do get it – it’s about removing everything (debulking), but couldn’t we call it something else? But on I went and following major surgery and recovery that was me done, done with treatments.

I spent a blissful year being myself again. I took myself to the sea and even managed some magical time away at a chocolate box cottage in Lyme Regis.

But by November 2021 I could feel the beast of ovarian cancer starting to raise it’s ugly head again – whispering to me – it didn’t want to be forgotten. That was hard, really hard. It’s like a recurrent nightmare . You know, the first time you jump in the deep end of the pool, you don’t know what to expect and whilst nervous, you do it all the same not knowing what it’s going to be like. But second time round, you know and you’re much more wary. It filled me with dread – the thought of more chemotherapy. But I’ve done it – I’m back on the chemo treadmill and this time I am trying the cold cap to see it I can keep some of my hair. It really is ice cold, but I’ve got used to it.

So how do I feel now? I’ve had a lot of ups and downs. It wears you down endless hospital appointments, blood tests, rounds of treatment – it seems never-ending. But what I never thought was that I have also been surrounded by love and support, the like of which I’ve never experienced before. My two daughters have been phenomenal.

And then I found GO Girls – a support group just for women like me – diagnosed with a gynaecological malignancy. I’ve made loads of new friends and chat regularly – they are an absolute lifeline. You can’t put a price on support really – we simply don’t value it enough, but without it I wonder where I would be or how I would have coped with the darker days. Oh, and we’ve laughed and laughed on this group. It’s an absolute must if you have been diagnosed with a gynaecological cancer.

And my fabulous Clinical Nurse Specialist is always there, a bright smiley face, and always at the end of the phone. She’s like a diamond in the dust.

And so that’s me – a brief insight into Jacqui’s world – a world with ovarian cancer, but a world enriched with GO Girls.

Could you help GO GIRLS? If every woman donated #justone pound, we'd raise £30 million to create change.

A big shout out to Jacqui for telling her story, it's stories like yours that help us create change. If you have a story to tell contact us.

#justone

Button
Button
Button
Button

JUST IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT

OVARIAN CANCER

Over 7000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the UK each year. Survival is still poor. Can you imagine what we could achieve if every woman donated #justone pound - we'd raise £30 million - think what a game-changer this could be.

A

ABDOMINAL PAIN

Abdominal pain is often a key symptom of ovarian cancer : this is likely to pain lasting more than 2 weeks

B

BLOATING

Bloating is a key symptom. Have you noticed your clothes getting tighter (not associated with weight gain). You may also have disturbed bowels and bladder and low back pain

C

CAN'T EAT MUCH

Ovarian cancer will often give you a feeling you cannot each much or are feeling full

Did you know?

Ovarian cancer has one of the longest intervals between referral and start of treatment

More than 21,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer every year. It is the fifth most common cause of cancer in the UK and the seventh most common cause of cancer mortality, making it the deadliest gynaecological cancer