Durham woman told she could be pregnant diagnosed with ovarian cancer

A woman who was told she could be pregnant before being diagnosed with ovarian cancer has said she is "cracking on" with life after months of treatment.

Emma Colledge, from Durham, said she was so bloated she looked pregnant when she went to doctors in 2022.

The 24-year-old had been feeling sick on a regular basis and was prescribed anti-sickness medication after going to a walk-in centre.

She was also referred to a gynaecologist a couple of weeks later after being told her bloating was potentially caused by irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or pregnancy.

Ms Colledge said: "I was really bloated and I looked pregnant. I got to the point where I physically couldn't eat without feeling or being sick.

"I went to the doctors and then they either said that I was pregnant or it was IBS, but I just knew it wasn't that."

Her symptoms didn't ease and she resorted to going to A&E last September after suffering severe pain.

Doctors found a 30cm ovarian cyst that Ms Colledge said was "crushing" her kidneys and main nerves of her stomach. She was admitted to hospital to have the cyst removed but a CT scan spotted stage three cancer.

Ms Colledge said: "I had it in my bowel, bladder, abdomen, the appendix my diaphragm, my liver.

"The first question I asked was 'am I going to die?' You hear the word cancer and you just think it's a death sentence. They told me there were many options, but you think 'what on earth have I just been told?'

"It takes a couple of days to process it and then you think that there are probably people in worse situations than me and you crack on and fight it."

Ms Colledge had a full hysterectomy plus another operation to remove the cyst. She also has part of her bowel removed along with her spleen and appendix, too. Following six rounds of chemotherapy, Ms Colledge was finally given the all-clear in May this year.

She said "I now feel great. But that's the thing, I've never felt poorly throughout any of this. Other than being sick, you would never have known. Since then I've just been cracking on with life, there's nothing else you can do."

Following her successful treatment her sister, Jess decided it would be a good idea for a group of friends and family to raise funds and awareness for the charity that supported her - The Robin Cancer Trust.

They are also completing the PARAS' 10, a 10-mile race run over the same course as the Parachute Regiment's 10-mile selection march on the ranges at Catterick.

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