LIZ Wright of Wangi Wangi speaks with experience when she says women are adept at “explaining away” physical symptoms when their bodies aren’t quite feeling right.
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In June last year, Ms Wright, 67, was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic ovarian cancer, the deadliest women’s cancer.
“It took six months for doctors to diagnose me,” Ms Wright said.
The trouble, she says, is that ovarian cancer isn’t typically on women’s health radars, and the symptoms can be vague, or there can be no symptoms at all.
“The symptoms can be the sort of everyday problems that women have,” she said.
They can include bloating or wind, back pain, fatigue, or simply feeling full after eating a small amount.
“Most women put these symptoms aside as just being part of life.”
Health professionals, too, weren’t always considering ovarian cancer to be the potential cause when women present at their surgeries with these symptoms, she said.
Further complicating Ms Wright’s situation was her diagnosis, in 2002, with non Hodgkin’s follicular lymphoma which, she said, had since been kept at bay.
Then, in 2015, Ms Wright was found to have a small cancer on her right lung.
“The specialist told me I had lung cancer, but all of the tests they were doing didn’t comply with lung cancer,” she said.
“Six months later, in 2017, I was finally diagnosed with ovarian cancer.”
Ms Wright said she was telling her story in the hope that it may help other women to achieve much earlier detection of ovarian cancer.
Although was no real noted screening for ovarian cancer, Ms Wright said there was a couple of things women could do.
“First, a simple blood test [CA125 ] once a year and, every two years, a transvaginal ultrasound which, although not a 100 per cent guarantee, is the only early marker available,” she said.
To further raise awareness, Ms Wright is teaming with Ovarian Cancer Australia to host a walk at Lake Macquarie on Sunday, October 21.
The walk will start from Eleebana Lions Club at 10am. There will be a 5km walk, and a 10km walk.
“The 10km walk will follow the path around to Pippi’s [at the Point] at Warners Bay, and back again,” Ms Wright said.
“We’ll be asking for a $25 registration fee for adults, $10 for children aged 10 to 17, and children under 10 can take part for free.”
There will be more details about the walk closer to the event.
“I’ll be doing the walk myself. I’m hoping to stay as fit as I can at the moment,” Ms Wright said.
- Visit ovariancancer.net.au
