Woman told she ‘needed to lose weight’ before doctors found melon-sized tumour in ovaries
23.01.2022 - 21:30
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
A woman with a melon sized tumour in her ovaries is undergoing life-saving chemotherapy after being told by doctors she just needed ‘to lose weight’.
Veterinary nurse Hannah Catton is undergoing life-saving chemotherapy in Australia without her family, as they cannot make the 10,000 mile trip because of covid travel restrictions.
Hannah, moved to Melbourne in 2019 to work at a veterinary practice before becoming increasingly concerned about her health.
The 24-year-old visited a doctor after suffering from stomach bloating and repeated urinary infections, but was told it was probably stress related and that she should slim down.
However, events took a dramatic turn when she collapsed in severe pain while out horse riding in October last year.
She was later diagnosed with ovarian cancer after being taken to Melbourne’s Mercy Hospital for Women where surgeons removed a 20cm tumour from her ovaries, according to Mirror Online.
Ms Catton, from Faversham, Kent, said: “I was so angry, because for well over two years, I had been suffering from recurrent urinary tract infections and having so many antibiotics thrown at me to fix it.
“For more than a year I’d been going to different doctors trying to find a GP who would listen when I was telling them my periods are irregular and something is wrong.
“The response from them all was ‘you’re stressed, you’re fine, give it time, lose weight’.
“I was living with period pain, chronic fatigue, UTI-like symptoms and being bloated. I knew something was wrong but no doctors seemed concerned.”
While Hannah was planning a ‘new life’ in Australia, she wanted to come home every year to visit her family in the UK.
Ms Catton, who studied veterinary science at Canterbury College, said: