By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
IT WAS only a twinge during a yoga session at first.
Thinking it was just a pulled muscle, North Geelong’s Jane Lucas was shocked when, at the age of 31, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
“The pain gradually became sharper, so I thought it best to go and see a doctor just in case,” she said.
“The doctor felt a mass in my abdominal area that was similar in size to a five-month pregnant belly. I told her I thought I’d been eating too much cheese.
“It all happened so fast and I was diagnosed in late October 2011. After locating the tumour I was sent straight into surgery in November where they removed the whole thing intact.
“All diseased cells were encapsulated within the tumour, which was a good sign.
“In January 2012 I got the final diagnosis it was a rare sub-type of an ovarian primary cancer.
“It was stage one, so thanks to early detection and my extremely positive prognosis I didn’t needany treatment such as chemotherapy.
“Considering that two in three women don’t survive ovarian cancer, its mortality rate and that early detection is the only measure we have against the disease, if I hadn’t addressed the symptoms when I did I probably wouldn’t be here today.
“Ovarian cancer is extremely hard to detect because the signs and symptoms are so common or insignificant, such as a bit of weight gain or abdominal pain – mine was the size of a melon before I felt something was wrong.
“Awareness of the disease and its signs and symptoms are crucial to all women – it’s really our first line of defence.”
Jane will participate in a Women’s Cancer Foundation annual charity fun run and walk, We Can Walk It Out, on 16 February.
Mroe information about the National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month event is available at 2014wecanwalkitout.gofundraise.com.au.
