A primary school teacher has shared how she thought she was going through the menopause — only to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Emma Durkin, 48, a primary school teacher from West Denton in Newcastle was handed the so-called 'silent killer' diagnosis despite suffering from very few symptoms.
The mum-of-two says her problems started when her periods became irregular and she began to feel pain, which she believed was her experiencing the menopause.
As her condition worsened, she made a visit the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) on January 7 after feeling a sharp pain in her womb which left her unable to move, reports the Chronicle.
Doctors told her she had an abscess on her right ovary, and gave her antibiotics.
When Ms Durkin returned to the hospital four months later after feeling pain in her kidney, doctors also found a cyst on her left ovary, which was removed with keyhole surgery.
Further tests on a biopsy taken during the procedure turned up positive for Ovarian cancer, and she was asked to return to hospital on June 1 so they could talk to her face to face.
She told the Chronicle: "The consultant asked how I was. He basically just said I'm really sorry to tell you you have cancer. One of the first things I asked the doctor was 'Am I going to die?' and he couldn't answer. I was terrified. I looked at the survival rates and they're not very good.
"I had a meeting with my consultant and she was brilliant, she talked me through everything. She told me that they weren't expecting it. None of the specialists had looked at the scans and saw it. It was picked up from the biopsy's. I'm lucky that they have caught it early."
On July 4 a hysterectomy was carried out to remove her womb, and surgeons also took away some of her lymph nodes and her stomach muscle.
The year one teacher, who has been left with a 40cm wound on her stomach, said life since her diagnosis had been a "massive rollercoaster" but praised nurses at the hospital for their efforts and thanked family, friends, colleagues and the parents of the children for their support.
Emma now wants women to be more aware of the symptoms of Ovarian cancer, and reflected: "I just want people to be aware. It's a silent killer and it's killing women. If you have any issues to do with down below go and get them checked out. If you think something is not right get a second opinion."
The NHS says symptoms of Ovarian cancer can include indigestion, constipation or diarrhoea, back pain, constantly feeling tired, losing weight without trying and bleeding from the vagina after menopause.
