“Until I was diagnosed and got admitted to hospital, I never realised how common ovarian cancer is among women. Women of all age groups can develop ovarian cysts. The risk of ovarian cancer increases as a woman gets older.

Most cases occur in women who have already gone through menopause. Mine hit me when I was only 28.

My family has no history of cancer. I’ve never heard much about ovarian cancer. When I was developing all the symptoms, it never occurred to me that it would be something so serious. Besides, the symptoms of ovarian cancer are very common. Feeling bloated with gas in the stomach, weight gain, loss of appetite, feeling nausea and pain, these usually occur during the first few days of the menstrual cycle.

I thought I had gotten fatter due to insufficient rest and an improper diet. When I touched my abdomen, I could feel a hard lump on the lower left area. I visited the neighbourhood clinic but the doctor told me it was just some excessive gas in the body. She prescribed me some medicine and I did feel slightly better after that.

I remember it was on Christmas eve when I suddenly experienced a sharp pain in my lower abdomen. It was so painful I couldn’t talk or walk. I just kept perspiring. My boyfriend sent me to hospital where the doctors performed an X-ray on me. They confirmed that there was a growth in my abdomen but couldn’t identify which organ was affected until I did a CT scan. I was shocked. I called home to tell my mom about my condition and she asked me to fly back immediately to see our family doctor for a second opinion. If surgery had to be done, at least my family in Malaysia would be able to take care of me.

Back home, I was referred to one of the hospitals in my hometown almost immediately after consultation. I did a CT scan there and the report showed that there was a cyst on my left ovary. By then, my abdomen was the size of a 32-weeks pregnant woman. The surgery date was set and I went for it. It was successful. The cyst was about the size of a basketball and weighed about 4.8kg. The operation left a 24cm scar. I thought that was the end of my nightmare but I was wrong. Lab tests showed that the cyst was cancerous. I was diagnosed with stage 3 germ cell tumour, a type of ovarian cancer, in March 2015. I went for chemotherapy. My cancer journey had just begun.”

29 year old Jennifer is an ovarian cancer survivor whose last cancer treatment ended in June 2015. She shares about her journey in this series in conjunction with the Women’s Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Campaign. Next month, she will be celebrating her first year of being cancer-free and wants to raise cancer awareness. People do not need to fear cancer but to conquer it!