A big thank you to Ejay Harris who has raised over £2,570 on her Just Giving page and is still counting. Elizabeth is happy to share her story.

“I was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer in September 2016 at the age of 28. It was picked up after I collapsed and otherwise would have gone unnoticed. I am a junior doctor in the Army and an elite athlete and take a pride in my health, so it was a massive life shock. Then to be told that I may need a hysterectomy, major open surgery and feel that your life in the Army and as a professional cyclist might be over, well the cliché ‘it will never happen to you’ came to mind. All of a sudden life wasn’t a guarantee and I was forced to think about mortality before I had even got to the second chapter of my adult life.

Luckily for me, after my surgery and removal of a 1.3 kg tumour, I was given the all clear.  My tumour is borderline and the prognosis is good. But a year down the line and I may not have been so fortunate and even with chemotherapy some tumours are resistant. Not everyone gets the fairytale ending. In fact only 1 in 3 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer make it to the 5 year mark after diagnosis.

Unlike other gynae cancers there is no screening for ovarian cancer, so women aren’t being picked up until it is too late. If we can catch it in the early stages surgery can be curative. There are studies in progress to look at the most effective way to do this so that lives and fertility can be spared.”

Ejay was grateful for the care she received and wanted to thank her surgeon and his team by raising funds for GRACE.  She feels fortunate and doesn’t wish for any women to go through what she has. The work that GRACE funds will help to make these diseases a thing of the past.

After her surgery Ejay finally got the dog she always wanted – and she called her Grace. Grace is now the Poster Pup for Ejay’s Just Giving page.