The diagnosis in March 2015 was totally left of field. I was a fit and healthy 57 year old and that summer was particularly rich in whānau milestones and celebrations - the wonderful anticipation of the arrival of our first grandchild, a nephew’s wedding followed by the relief of farewelling our beloved mother and grandmother who had suffered way too long with Alzheimers. I was feeling very buoyant heading into the new year.

I suspect that a lot of women do this…I was lying in bed one morning - flat on my back - checking out the status of my belly fat. This particular morning I felt a hard lump, about the size of my fist to the lower left of my belly button. My husband suggested that it may have just been a full bladder. I agreed and wasn’t too worried. However, for a week or two, I kept going back to it but decided it might have been a hernia - or shot tummy muscles - so I took to doing sit ups to try to strengthen the old abs!

I think we subconsciously know when something’s not quite right in our body so, although I was relaxed, I booked a GP appointment, thinking that they would confirm that I just needed to tighten up my tummy muscles. Although the GP told me that he had no idea of what the lump might be, he asked me if I knew any surgeons because he was going to write me a referral letter. That was my first big shock as the need for surgery hadn’t even entered my mind and I had promised my daughter and son in law that I would be with them in Melbourne for the birth of their baby boy, due in April and this was late February.

6 years previously I had had a hysterectomy due to fibroids and I hadn’t even considered that the lump could be a gynaecological issue. At the time I had told the surgeon who performed the hysterectomy that ‘if it wasn’t broken - don’t fix it‘ so I had retained one ovary and my cervix. I was blown away when the scan revealed that I had ‘a large ovarian mass’ and a blood test confirmed elevated levels of CA-125.

6 years previously I had had a hysterectomy due to fibroids and I hadn’t even considered that the lump could be a gynaecological issue. At the time I had told the surgeon who performed the hysterectomy that ‘if it wasn’t broken - don’t fix it‘ so I had retained one ovary and my cervix. I was blown away when the scan revealed that I had ‘a large ovarian mass’ and a blood test confirmed elevated levels of CA-125.

Make sure that things keep moving forward. Ask how long you should expect to wait for each appointment - scans, specialists etc and if you don’t hear back within a week, call and check. Yes, my husband was my number one champion and rock. I found it really difficult to tell my nearest and dearest about the diagnosis. Brian helped me navigate my way through this.

On a personal note, I feel extremely fortunate and blessed to have you here today, thanks to catching ovarian cancer at the early stages. My hope is that this encourages women to advocate for their bodies, and feel heard when it comes to their health (and life generally of course!) Photography by Brian Dixon.