West Sussex grandmother with ovarian cancer shares important warning over symptoms

Lesley Wood, from East Preston, received the devastating diagnosis after a ‘year of textbook symptoms’. The speech and language therapist was initially told she had Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) – and later diverticulitis. She noticed early symptoms of her illness in 2018 – which included sharp pains down her left side and later in her pelvic area.

In October that year, Lesley went to New York with her family to celebrate her 60th birthday but developed severe pains. She saw a doctor in the USA who pressed over her left ovary, causing Lesley to scream in pain. She was sent by ambulance to the emergency room but her travel insurance and credit card limit wouldn’t cover an MRI scan and she was discharged with antibiotics.

Back home, Lesley then developed headaches and stomach pains and returned to the doctor again.

While on a six-month waiting list to see a specialist, Lesley developed a lump in her neck. She was examined by a doctor from a different practice who told her she needed an immediate cancer referral.

Lesley said: “I was shocked because cancer had not been suggested before.”

Three weeks later, an ENT specialist confirmed she had ovarian cancer.

“I was in a state of shock,” Lesley said. “I thought if I had cancer at all it would be localised to my neck and never connected it with cancer in my ovaries.”

Lesley said she was ‘devastated’ to find out her cancer was at stage four – although it could be treated.

She added: “I couldn’t immediately process what I was being told because it was so shocking.”

Lesley responded well to chemotherapy and progressed to surgery – after taking part in the Race for Life in Worthing with a group of 12 friends.

“This was a group of school friends who were doing it for me, but I felt well enough to join them, along with my husband, daughter and son-on-law to be," Lesley said. “We raised £10,000.”

Lesley had surgery and, within weeks, she was back on chemotherapy. But then the Covid pandemic hit and her treatment ‘was stopped overnight’.

“I was left totally in limbo,” Lesley said. “I missed out not only on the chemo but the feeling of being looked after. No-one gave me any information about the implications of stopping treatment or when it might restart.”

Lesley was able to attend her daughter’s wedding in August although she was on morphine for the pain. Her husband, Chris, gave up work to help look after her.

“Today, I’m still working part-time and living a normal life but at a reduced rate,” Lesley said. “I walk every day with the dog and work in the garden.

"Chemo has taken its toll but I’m determined to stay positive and passionate about raising awareness of ovarian cancer and the need for early diagnosis and treatment.

“Having worked in the NHS since 1981, I recognise the pressures it is under but see big gaps between patients being taken seriously, early diagnosis of symptoms and the amazing, world-class cancer treatment the NHS offers.

“I want to use my own experience to promote future improved outcomes and repay the enormous debt of gratitude I feel towards the NHS and Cancer Research UK.”

Lesley is currently ‘well’, thanks to treatment ‘which is holding the cancer at bay’. Now she is on a mission to highlight the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer in a bid to save other women from the same trauma.

To show her gratitude for the treatment, Lesley is taking part in Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life on June 4, along with her daughter Stephanie Davies and three-month-old grand-daughter Sofia, from Horsham.

Also taking part in the Horsham event will be staff and volunteers from the town’s Cancer Research UK shop – manager Victoria Godfrey, Antonia Santos, Gill Willett, Adam Lea, Victoria Harry, Sarah Lewsey and Lynda Hillicks.

They are calling on others to sign up for a Race for Life in Sussex or at one of the other events around the county this summer, to raise money for life-saving research.

Lesley said: “We all have a reason to Race for Life. I race for life in support of the amazing work that Cancer Research UK is carrying out to bring hope for future generations.”

Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life – in partnership with headline sponsor Standard Life – is a series of 3k, 5k, 10k, Pretty Muddy and Pretty Muddy Kids events which raise millions of pounds every year to fund crucial research. This is the 30th year and participants will receive a special medal to mark the milestone.

Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson in the South East, Lynn Daly, said: “We‘re incredibly grateful to Lesley for her support.

“We’d love everyone to join us during our 30th year of Race for Life. Sadly, cancer affects all of us in some way. Whether people are living with cancer, taking part in honour of or in memory of a loved one with cancer, or signing up to protect their own children’s future, everyone has a reason to Race for Life. Together we can bring about a future free from the fear of cancer.

"So we’re asking everyone: Who will you race for? Race for Life is open to all. For some people, it’s literally a walk in the park. For others, it’s a jog. Some may opt to push themselves harder, taking up the challenge of the 10K distance. But whatever people can do, we’re looking forward to welcoming all ages and abilities.”

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