A mother-of-one has warned women not to rule out a telltale sign of deadly ovarian cancer that is often mistaken for an upcoming period.
Sophie Casey, 28, from Leeds, was diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer which had spread throughout her body in October, after suffering extreme swelling which made her “look nine months pregnant”.
However, both her GP and hospital doctors told her that the worrying symptom was nothing more than a common stomach infection.
She was prescribed antibiotics, which eventually caused her to vomit.
Now, she faces a grim prognosis and the possibility of having a stoma bag (a disposable bag that collects waste) placed because of the damage to her intestine caused by the ovarian tumor.
“My symptoms could have been my period,” Casey said, adding that the level of swelling she suffered was something she had “never had before.”
“People may not think about it too much… but you have to know your body and your cycle.”
After visiting her GP for the first time in September, Casey was told that a common infection, such as one contracted from contaminated food, was likely behind her symptom.
Sophie Casey, 28, from Leeds, was diagnosed with stage 4B ovarian cancer in October, after several visits to her GP, a misdiagnosis and multiple visits to A&E.
Casey, mother of one-year-old Henry, and her partner George Burril (pictured) are raising funds to help them make memories as a family and raise awareness about cancer.
But when it didn’t go away, he visited the local emergency department.
Doctors initially prescribed antibiotics, but they had no effect, forcing her to return to the hospital again.
‘T“They did some tests there, they did some scans and they said they found a mass,” he said. Leeds live.
After more tests, Mrs. Casey spoke to an oncologist who gave her a diagnosis.
She said: ‘They told me it was terminal. Something treatable, but not curable.
“I had to have three rounds of chemotherapy and they’ll see how it responds before I can give myself any hope of life.”
Before her chemotherapy, which will end at the end of December, Ms Casey had 16 liters of fluid drained from her stomach.
The mass was also pressing on her bowel, meaning she was at risk of an intestinal blockage and she was told she was on high alert for surgery and a stoma bag.
Casey, mother of one-year-old Henry, and his companion George Burril, are now raising funds to help them make memories as a family and raise awareness about cancer.
Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the UK.
The disease kills about 11 women every day in Britain, on average, or 4,000 a year.
Ovarian cancer is a rare form of disease that develops in the ovaries, the female organs that produce eggs. It is often called a “silent killer” since symptoms do not occur until the later stages of the disease.
Casey urges women to be aware of changes in the menstrual cycle and any symptoms that may be an “everyday problem.”
It also kills three times as many women each year in the United States, figures show.
It is often diagnosed late because the symptoms are vague and resemble other less serious problems, such as irritable bowel syndrome.
They may include indigestion, pelvic or abdominal pain, loss of appetite, constipation, and the need to urinate more frequently.
Around 93 per cent of women diagnosed live five years or more if detected at the earliest stage, compared to just 13 per cent diagnosed at stage four.
Casey was diagnosed with stage 4B ovarian cancer, meaning it has spread within the liver or spleen, to lymph nodes outside the abdomen, or to other organs such as the lungs, according to Cancer Research UK.
About a fifth of women with ovarian cancer are also diagnosed in emergencies, when it is often too late for any treatment.
Although most cases of the disease are diagnosed in women between 75 and 79 years old, cases are increasing in younger people.
Since the early 1990s, rates have increased 78 percent in women under age 24 and 10 percent in those ages 25 to 49, Cancer Research data shows.
Casey urges women to be aware of changes in the menstrual cycle and any symptoms that may be “everyday problems.”
“Don’t be fooled by doctors who tell you that you are young,” he added.
‘My doctor told me that ‘it’s not common in women your age’ and I said, ‘that’s the problem, that’s what I want to change’… (that vision).’