Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month - Carry the Courage

Meet Rachel Saunders, a beautiful member of our Pink Finss family who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in September 2019 at age 51.  Rachel is an ovarian cancer survivor and is taking the opportunity during Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month to spread the word about ovarian cancer because of her own personal experience – not once but TWICE!

Rachel’s first diagnosis of ovarian cancer happened by chance, after making an appointment with her gynaecologist for something unrelated.  A routine ultrasound discovered a tumour and Rachel was booked in for further tests.  “Being told they had found a cyst during the ultrasound was a total surprise because I had not been unwell at all and I think this is a common theme amongst ovarian cancer patients because the symptoms can be easily dismissed as other things.  It was easy for me to dismiss the increase in bathroom frequency because I had been drinking much more water.  It was easy for me to dismiss my bloated stomach because of my age and stage of life.”

After a whirlwind of further tests the doctors started to become more concerned and told Rachel that they suspected it was cancer but they wouldn’t know for sure until she had surgery. “At this point I was pretty scared and whilst I was hoping for the best, deep down I was preparing myself for the worst.” 

Unfortunately for Rachel when she woke after surgery her worst fears were confirmed and she was told the tumour was cancer and that she had been given a full hysterectomy and that spots were also found in her liver and bowel.  “Nothing prepares you for being told you have cancer.  Your life is turned upside down and things are never the same again.  I had lost my mother 16 years ago to this disease and I couldn’t believe that I now had to tell my three children that this was happening to me.”

Rachel’s physical recovery from her surgery took six months and on top of that there were six rounds of chemotherapy which resulted in Rachel losing her hair, and that was another major hurdle.

When treatment finished Rachel was told by her medical team to “live her life” and that is what Rachel did by returning to work and spending time with her loved ones.  But Rachel says “life after cancer is never easy and its when you have your follow up appointments that you spiral back into the cancer hole and you have the fear of being told that your cancer has returned.”

It was a short two years later when Rachel was having her follow up scan that she was told her ovarian cancer had metastasized and returned in her bowel.   

Rachel is now back in treatment having a combined chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatment over four months and so far her doctors are really happy with how Rachel is responding.

Ovarian Cancer Australia’s theme for February 2022 is “Carry the Courage”.  At the Pink Finss all of our ladies are courageous, no matter what type of cancer they are fighting and with one woman in Australia losing their battle to ovarian cancer every 8 hours we are so grateful to our remarkably courageous and beautiful friend Rachel for sharing her story.

“Ovarian cancer is something that is so hard to detect particularly if you can’t physically feel anything out of the ordinary wrong with you.  It’s easy to ignore those niggles and go about your day, putting things down to your busy lifestyle.  But it’s so important to pay attention to how you feel and notice any little changes because if you don’t act on it and ask your doctor those questions, it will go undetected.”