Maree, 37 years

Imagine the excitement, you are organising a party to celebrate your 37th birthday. You've got about 30 friends coming and so much to do. So, there's the venue to confirm, catering to organise, confirmation of people attending, finger food to tend to and then of course, what to wear! Oh God and it's only two days away. To me, this was the beginning of my journey towards my 40th birthday. A three-year adventure, a journey to begin that night.

Saturday 1st June 2002 arrived and I had a frantic day wondering, "Will everything go to plan?" You see, I am a planner and much to my detriment at times, I just plan everything. On the night, I had fantastic friends with me, some old and some relatively new. With lots of laughter, great food, a few drinks, well, maybe more than a few, it was a really wonderful night. Three days later, life would take another path on this magnificent journey.

The first time I knew there was something wrong was when I experienced a hellish striking pain in the right side of my lower abdomen. The pain then crept, it seemed, up into my stomach area. I was lucky, I rarely experienced period pains, let alone pain that felt like a chainsaw being run across my stomach, so I knew something was terribly wrong. At first I thought it might be appendicitis, though I was healthy, you know, three days a week in the gym, a non-smoker, social drinker and I didn't really eat junk food. I had had pap smear test results come back clear on the 31st May, so I thought I was OK on the feminine side of things. So, off to the doctor I went.

At first, it was thought that I had an ulcer, so, blood tests were taken and I was booked in for a gastroscopy. That proved to be clear. Next was an internal vaginal ultrasound to see if the 'plumbing' was okay. Thank God for internal ultrasounds. As uncomfortable as they are, this one possibly saved my life as it detected a tumour near the right ovary.

Within days of the tumour being detected, I was referred to Associate Professor Thomas Jobling. Upon discussing the procedures necessary and what the possible outcome may be, I was booked into hospital, ready for whatever the future held. At the time of detecting the tumour, Prof Jobling could not tell me for sure whether I would have to have a laparoscopy or a full hysterectomy, due to the unknown nature of the tumour. He would not know until surgery that I would have to have a full hysterectomy. I put my full trust in him and I knew, whatever the outcome, it would be positive and I would be safe.

I consider myself to be one of the 'lucky' ones. My cancer was detected early, so I did not need chemotherapy. I sailed through recovery and I guess I put that down to having a positive attitude towards life, being physically fit and having the support of my dear friends and family. Several weeks prior to detection, my partner and I had gone our separate ways. I did not let him know what had happened, although I wanted to. I was stubborn and did not want to seem the helpless little woman; I knew I had to get through this without him.

Six weeks after surgery I was back at work with a 99.99% clearance and a clean bill of health. I know I am not bullet-proof and nothing is 100% after an experience like this, though it's possible I will never have to revisit surgery.

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