Gillian was a force of nature. Just so full of energy. She loved her family and friends unconditionally and gave everything she had both in her personal life and at work. Gillian was a teacher and absolutely adored by her pupils.
Some of my earliest memories of my aunt are of listening to her play the piano and singing along. We both loved to sing and had a shared passion for travelling. Her great love was Italy, which she has definitely passed on to me, even teaching herself the language.
A long road to diagnosis
Gillian had experienced a number of health complications throughout her life. We had heard of ovarian cancer before, after losing Gillian’s cousin to the disease a few years prior. It was around the time that Michelle Heaton had spoken out about having the faulty BRCA2 gene mutation increasing her chances of developing breast and ovarian cancer.
I did prompt Gillian to be tested then and it came back negative. This coupled with her having had a hysterectomy back in 2000 meant that a diagnosis of ovarian cancer was just not on our radar.
After months of symptoms and lots of tests, Gillian was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer in October 2015. She had had pleurisy at the time, and it just wouldn’t shift.
It was something Gillian had experienced before, but this time it was different. Her GP referred her for scans and that is when they found the secondary tumours in her abdomen.
Gillian was experiencing pain in her stomach about a year before the diagnosis (I remember as it was just before my wedding in September 2014) and she had been referred for more tests. Sadly, on that occasion, the consultant believed it was a trapped nerve causing the pain and nothing else was explored.
The prognosis that followed was shocking for the whole family. We were advised that it was very likely that Gillian only had weeks left to live. They didn't expect her to make it to the Christmas.
Defying the odds
Despite this, Gillian was adamant that even if it was offered to her, she wouldn't have chemotherapy. After the diagnosis she didn't have any treatment other than pain relief and a couple of occasions when her stomach fluid was drained.
In April 2016 Gillian went back to the hospital for further scans. She agreed with her consultant to continue with no treatment.
Amazingly, the scans showed that some of her tumours had either shrunk, stayed the same size, or disappeared completely. The consultant had never seen anything like it before – explaining that she had only read about a handful of cases where similar results had been recorded.
Gillian ended up surpassing all medical expectations and lived for two and a half years after her diagnosis.
Making memories
We felt incredibly lucky as a family to have those extra years. I actually think that they were some of her best. I don't think I'd seen her laugh so much. She got to spend precious time with family and friends, travel again with my husband and I, and most importantly, meet her great nephew.
Something I know she was over the moon about. Our son James was so content in her arms, and she was able to hold him for hours.
Although Gillian’s health was deteriorating throughout my pregnancy, she was determined to get her crochet and knitting needles out. She made the most beautifully intricate blanket for my son. That was so typical of Gillian, she always pushed herself and did what she could for her family.
She went into the hospice for the final time not long after James was born, but we were all so blessed to have her there for a day. It’s one of my dearest memories.
I found Target Ovarian Cancer whilst searching online and have been following the charity’s vital work for some time now.
I wanted to share Gillian’s story to celebrate her life and the wonderful woman that she was, but also to provide a sense of hope and comfort to everyone who is going through something similar today – hopefully it does just that.
If you’ve been affected by this story and would like to speak to a specialist nurse, you can call our dedicated support line on 020 7923 5475 or contact us: [email protected]. We're open from 9am until 5pm, Monday to Friday.
If reading this story has helped you, join the Ovarian Cancer Community to connect with more people affected by ovarian cancer: www.targetovariancancer.org.uk/onlinecommunity
