Tatum, 25 years

I was 25 years old when I was diagnosed - I had just given birth to my first child and it all started when he was just three weeks old. I presented at the emergency department at my local hospital with pains down my left side. After what felt like a million tests, they determined that I had contracted an infection in my kidney due to the pregnancy. To confirm this, I had an ultrasound on my kidneys, which just happened to skim the top of my ovaries - they noticed a mass that seemed unusual in my ovaries and asked me to return to hospital for further tests. The same day I went back for further tests, which showed that the mass in my ovary was a germ cell tumour. This was confirmed by the tumour markers that showed up in my blood test.

You can imagine my shock and horror - I had ovarian cancer? Surely not! I had just given birth to a baby; this wasn't happening to me. Surely, they had mixed up my results with someone else’s, surely they weren't serious when they said I had to have chemotherapy - did I mention I had just had a baby?! Anyway after the operation to remove my right ovary, I had a week at home with my baby before chemotherapy started. The day my son turned six weeks old, when everything should have been going back to normal and when I should have been going to mother's group, I had my first day of chemo. I completely missed the newborn stage of my son - at the time it felt like I was never going to get better again, never going to be able to enjoy my child. But after four long months of darkness, the light finally started to show and I was able to get out of bed myself, look after my child by myself - life was great!

My son is now three years old and I have recently had another baby, much to my and my husband's surprise - I really thought that conceiving another child was impossible. However my second child is a bouncing, healthy little boy. I have been in remission since chemo ended and they have given me 99%, my doctors are very confident that it will not return; I have been cured.

I look at life in a different light these days. What used to get me down before, I now laugh at. I get out of bed every morning so grateful that I'm here to get out of bed! I look at my husband and children every day and cherish every second I have with them. I look at the dirty dishes in the sink and laugh - I'm here to do them! The washing that is sitting in the tub can wait - I'll still be here tomorrow and the next day and the next to do it; life is great!

To everyone out there battling this disease - keep fighting. Stay strong. Stay positive. To everyone out there thinking about getting checked out (or not thinking it) - DO IT! Life is too short to allow this disease to take over - there is much too much to see and do!

Thank you for listening to my story. I hope it helps, even if it is just one person.

<< Back to Personal Stories