Trying for a baby saved my life when doc found cancer
GP Serena on chance diagnosis in fertility bid
Serena O’connell epidural wore off the pain was horrific. I remember wondering how the human body could endure such pain and still remain conscious, it was horrific.”
Motorbike enthusiast Serena was just 34 when she got the diagnosis and after the surgery she felt bereft.
She added: “I remember lying on the bed in recovery, I couldn’t look at anyone, I was just looking up at the ceiling and tears were flowing down my face.”
This Friday marks World Ovarian Cancer Day. It’s the fourth most common cancer in Ireland with 272 women losing their lives to it each year. Symptoms include persistent pelvic and tummy pain, abdominal bloating and feeling full quickly. Serena said: “Had I not have tried to have a baby I wouldn’t have even known I had cancer. I would have been terminally ill before I knew.
“I was at stage 3B when they were doing the surgery, had I have got to stage four it would have been terminal.”
Ovacare, an organisation set up to help women who have had ovarian cancer, said it’s important women don’t ignore the signs of the illness.
According to consultant gynaecological Dr Michael O’leary, early diagnosis and treatment are vital.
He said: “Women with a family history of breast or ovarian cancer should be particularly vigilant. Talk to your GP, describe new symptoms which are not going away and mention any family history. GPS are there to help you.”
news@irishmirror.ie
Fergus and Serena