Dianne Oxberry's loved ones are sharing the symptoms of ovarian cancer everyone should know after the much-loved BBC weather presenter's 'sudden and unexpected' death from the disease. Dianne died at The Christie just months after her diagnosis with ovarian cancer.
Her family and friends are launching an awareness campaign to 'give other families more time than we had with Dianne'.
Dianne was best known for her time as a long-serving broadcaster on BBC North West Tonight, and lived in Sale with her husband and two children. Fans and fellow presenters alike were left heartbroken when she tragically died from cancer in January 2019, with tributes flooding in from across the region.
Now her friends and family have launched the Spread the Word campaign, targeting people across the north west in the hope of improving awareness that will lead to people being diagnosed earlier.
There are 3.7 million women in the north west and 940,000 of them are in the highest risk group when it comes to ovarian cancer. If detected early, survival rates of women with ovarian cancer increase significantly, but sadly, the symptoms are often mistaken for other less serious conditions or ignored, meaning when people finally do seek medical advice, it is often too late to ensure timely, effective treatment.
Ian Hindle, Dianne’s husband, said: “When it comes to ovarian cancer, a speedy diagnosis is vital in terms of improving outcomes for patients. The key to a rapid diagnosis is for people to know the symptoms to look out for, when to go to their GP, and when to push for tests.
“We know that everyone is busy, but we’re hoping that this simple campaign where we repeat the key symptoms of this disease over and over again will lead to some recognition and recall that might actually save someone’s life.
“Our aim is to try and give other families in the North West more time than we had with Dianne. She would be so proud of the work that we’re doing I’m sure, and if this campaign can make a difference to the experiences of even one or two local people, then it will be completely worth it.”
Many of the symptoms of ovarian cancer can also be related to other health problems, but the 12-month campaign is encouraging people in the North West to be more body aware, look out for key symptoms, and to not be afraid to check them with their doctor. The campaign comes as this weekend marks May 8, World Ovarian Cancer Day.
Some of the main symptoms that could be related to ovarian cancer form the acronym 'WORD':
W eeing more often
O verly bloated feeling
R educed appetite
D ull ache or pain in the pelvis or tummy
The campaign is being run by the Dianne Oxberry Trust, a charity which was set up in 2019 following Dianne’s death. Ian continued: “Following Dianne’s sudden and unexpected death we were supported by an incredible outpouring of love and grief from people across the North West.
"It was an overwhelming response and we decided to harness all of that amazing positive energy to try and salvage something positive from the unthinkably awful situation that ovarian cancer had brought to our lives. A small group of us, made up of some of Dianne’s closest friends, set up the Dianne Oxberry Trust and we initially used funds donated by generous local people to support vital research and other initiatives to help others diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
“Now, a few years later, our main focus is on raising awareness of the signs and symptoms people should look out for, so that hopefully they can secure faster diagnosis and better outcomes so that other families have more time together than we had with Dianne. If you see any of our leaflets, social media posts, media stories or other activity in the coming months, please do share it and help us spread the message far and wide. It really could save your life – or the life of someone close to you.”
For more information on The Dianne Oxberry Trust or the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer, visit www.dianneoxberrytrust.org
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