One student told how she was given just hours to live after her cancer diagnosis.
Libby Dodes, 23, from Derby, initially attributed her abdominal pain and swollen belly to her endometriosis.
But doctors eventually found a 23cm tumor lurking in his abdomen. Tests showed she had a rare and aggressive ovarian cancer.
At one point, Miss Dodes’ parents were told that she was “going to die over the weekend.”
Since then, she has undergone four rounds of chemotherapy, as well as ultraradical cytoreductive surgery, which involved removal of the mass, lymph nodes in the pelvic area, a hysterectomy, and removal of part of the peritoneum and appendix.
Libby Dodes, 23 (pictured), a keen equestrian and student from Derby, attributed her abdominal pain and swollen belly to her endometriosis.
Now Miss Dodes, an avid jockey, needs super-strength chemotherapy to continue treating her small cell ovarian cancer.
Recalling her diagnosis in November 2023, Miss Dodes said: ‘When I found out it was cancer, it was very difficult. It does not look real.’
It was only detected after he fell from his horse in October, and had scans for a suspected broken pelvis.
Miss Dodes added: “I think my horse knew this and saved my life.” It’s not often that I fall off of it.
“You never think it’s something that’s going to happen to you.”
A CT scan revealed a 23cm tumor in his abdomen and he was diagnosed with cancer in November 2023 following a biopsy.
According to Cancer Research UK, around 7,500 new cases of ovarian cancer occur in the UK each year.
It may cause belly pain, bloating, and loss of appetite.
Small cell ovarian cancer is a rare type of ovarian cancer that usually occurs in younger women.
It is often an aggressive cancer with a poor long-term prognosis, according to the charity The Eve Appeal, which funds gynecological cancer research.
It causes solid, fleshy, cream-coloured tumours, the charity adds.
Miss Dodes believes her cancer diagnosis is similar to that of Kate Middleton, who announced her own battle last month.
The Princess of Wales, 42, underwent major abdominal surgery and later revealed she was receiving “preventive” chemotherapy after her cancer was discovered.
Miss Dodes was transferred to Nottingham City Hospital where she received chemotherapy in December 2023 to shrink the tumour. Then, in February 2024, doctors were able to perform the eight-hour operation to remove the cancer.
Miss Dodes has struggled with bad periods since she was a teenager and was finally diagnosed with endometriosis after a laparoscopy in February 2023.
Endometriosis, considered an inflammatory condition, occurs when tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows in other parts of the body.
She had a postoperative infection after an operation to remove endometrial tissue..
But in August of last year he began to feel stomach pain.
Miss Dodes’ mother Vanessa, finance director, said: ‘Libby thought she had endometriosis in her bladder.
“Doctors dismissed his symptoms.”
Miss Dodes now needs high-dose chemotherapy to continue fighting the cancer, but her mother claims the Nottingham trust is refusing to fund it, leaving them with no option but to raise funds.
The family is raising funds for immunotherapy treatment, which Miss Dodes will need to give herself the best chance of beating any cancer that may return. But the family may now need the £79,913 already raised for private chemotherapy.
Ultimately, Miss Dodes was referred to a specialist and her appointment was scheduled for October 24.
But while horseback riding on October 22, she fell from the horse and was taken to the hospital with a suspected fractured pelvis.
A CT scan revealed a 23cm mass in his abdomen. A biopsy performed in November showed it was cancer.
His parents were told they couldn’t perform the surgery because the tumor was too close to his major organs and was affecting his heart rate.
Vanessa said: ‘We were told Libby was going to die over the weekend.
‘It was absolutely horrible. It was the worst day of my life.
Miss Dodes believes her cancer diagnosis is similar to that of Kate Middleton, who announced her own battle with cancer in March.
But Miss Dodes pulled through and her mother managed to have her transferred to Nottingham City Hospital, where she underwent chemotherapy in December 2023 to shrink the tumour.
Then, in February 2024, doctors were able to perform the eight-hour operation to remove the cancer.
Miss Dodes now needs high-dose chemotherapy to continue fighting the cancer, but her mother claims the trust is refusing to fund it, leaving them with no option but to raise funds.
She said: ‘We are taking treatment by treatment. We’re at the point where Libby needs a high dose of chemo.
“It has been denied.”
Miss Dodes said: “If I want to get through this, I need this.”
the family are fundraising for immunotherapy treatment, which Miss Dodes will need to give herself the best chance of beating any cancer that may return.
But the family may now need the £79,913 already raised for private chemotherapy.
Dr Keith Girling, medical director at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH), said: “We always try to do the best for our patients and seek to secure treatment options wherever possible.”
“We continue to support Libby and her family at this very difficult time.”
WHY OVARIAN CANCER IS CALLED A ‘SILENT KILLER’
About 80 percent of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed in the advanced stages of the disease.
By the time of diagnosis, 60 percent of ovarian cancers will have already spread to other parts of the body, reducing the five-year survival rate from 90 percent at the earliest stage to 30 percent.
It is diagnosed so late because of its location in the pelvis, according to Dr. Ronny Drapkin, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, who has been studying the disease for more than two decades.
“The pelvis is like a bowl, so a tumor there can grow quite large before it is really noticeable,” Dr Drapkin told MailOnline.
The first symptoms that arise with ovarian cancer are gastrointestinal because the tumors may begin to press upward.
When a patient complains of gastrointestinal upset, doctors are more likely to focus on a change in diet and other causes than to suggest ovarian cancer screening.
Dr. Drapkin said it is usually not until a patient suffers persistent gastrointestinal symptoms that a test is performed that reveals the cancer.
“Ovarian cancer is often said to be a silent killer because it has no early symptoms, when in fact it does have symptoms, they are very general and could be caused by other things,” he said.
‘One of the things I tell women is that no one knows your body as well as you do. If you feel like something isn’t right, something probably isn’t right.’