A WOMAN has shared her battle with ovarian cancer as she hopes to raise awareness of the disease.

Janet Scrowston was diagnosed with the disease in June 2014 and has shared her story as part of Ovarian Cancer Month which runs throughout March.

The Spire Cheshire Hospital radiographer went to her GP after finding a lump on her stomach.

She said: “I was fit and well and has no obvious symptoms until one day I felt a lump in the lower part of my stomach.

“I immediately went to see my GP who referred me for an urgent ultrasound scan which showed I had a cyst on my left ovary – I was then referred to Dr Brett Winter-Roach who looked at my scans and confirmed that it was very likely that I had a malignant ovarian tumour.

“Hearing that I could have cancer was such a shock – it was a surreal experience and it was as if it was happening to someone else.”

Fortunately for Janet the cancer was caught in its very early stages, greatly increasing the chances of a recovery.

The 61-year-old added: “From that moment it all happened so fast and within a week I was booked in for surgery – luckily the whole tumour was removed intact and all the diseased cells were encapsulated within the tumour which was a good sign.

“Two weeks after my surgery I got the final diagnosis that it was a primary ovarian cancer – it was stage one so thanks to early detection and my prognosis being extremely positive I didn’t need to have further treatment such as chemotherapy.

“I feel extremely lucky that my tumour was caught early and could be removed intact with no spread – I feel it was a time bomb just waiting to go off.”

One in 50 women will develop ovarian cancer in their lifetime, with 7,000 diagnoses and 4,300 deaths from the disease in the UK every year.

Symptoms include persistent bloating, increased stomach size, eating difficulties and needing to urinate more frequently.

Dr Brett Winter-Roach, consultant gynaecologist at Spire Cheshire Hospital, treated Janet.

He said: “Far too many women are dismissing the symptoms for too long before going to see their GP – unfortunately there is not always a specific symptom, and the symptoms could be subtle so it is difficult to spot which can contribute to GPs sometimes suspecting irritable bowel syndrome as being the problem.

“When woman are diagnosed in the early stages of ovarian cancer they have a 90 per cent chance of either being cured or surviving for more than five years but this reduces to less than 40 per cent when diagnosed in the later stages.

“It is important they know what symptoms to look for and that they make their GP aware of those symptoms as soon as possible.”