A Woking couple have launched a “BEAT” awareness campaign for ovarian cancer.
The husband of a Woking woman who realised she had ovarian cancer after reading an article about it, is leading a campaign to make 20,000 women aware of the signs.
Kathryn Norris was diagnosed in March 2017. She had been eating less, felt tired and noticed her breasts were swollen. Her GP referred her for a transvaginal ultrasound, but before this she became uncomfortable with abdominal bloating. She remembered a magazine article highlighting the key symptoms of ovarian cancer; B for bloating, E for eating less and feeling fuller quicker, A for abdominal pain and T for toilet changes.
The ultrasound revealed the 66-year-old did indeed have stage 2 ovarian cancer. After a hysterectomy and six months of chemotherapy she is being monitored every three months. “I feel so lucky my disease was caught early enough to be treated and to give me the chance of staying healthy,” says Kathryn who is now a grandmother.
Her husband Graham, the men’s captain at Hoebridge Golf Club, is using his term to spread awareness of the signs of the disease and is leading a BEAT campaign to tell 20,000 women about the symptoms and raise £20,000 for ovarian cancer charities. The idea is that every woman told will tell 10 more and he is starting with the 120 lady members.
Graham and ladies captain Pat Collins aim to reach their target by December helping charities Ovacome and Ovarian Cancer Action and have fundraising events planned including a golf day in July. He says: “If this helps to save one life it’s has been worth it.”
For more about ovarian cancer please visit www.ovacome.org.uk or www.ovarian.org.uk
