40 year old Kelly is a working mother of a three and a five year old. She spent two years trying to get help when, despite being unable to eat because she felt full and tired, her stomach got bigger. Her doctor suggested she had a possible personality disorder and should watch her diet and get better sleep. Two weeks into lockdown, the pain finally got too much…

I still don’t think I’ve come to terms with the fact that I had cancer and that it will be something I have to deal with for a long time. Regular checkups are becoming the norm , and the sensation of being frozen in time whilst waiting for results is resoundingly familiar.

Even after I spotted a poster by Cure Our Ovarian Cancer on the back door of a toilet where I checked off all the symptoms – I thought I was overreacting! I was supposed to be watching my daughter play hockey at a tournament – but I was really sick and despite the regular bouts severe pain – enough to contemplate an ambulance – I still didn’t! I was worried about being …

Jane is a 58 year old Pakeha woman and a much loved mum to her two adult children, in their late 20s. In March 2020, she started to get stomach pain, was treated for a range of possible problems including …

The human body is amazing. It bounces back after gruelling punishment – 2 complex surgeries and 3 months of chemo in a 12 month period – looking at me, you wouldn’t guess. People matter more than anything in the world – family, friends, colleagues, neighbours, the LGSOC support group; everyone helped us stay afloat.

I’m an animal lover and spend much of my free time volunteering at animal shelters both here in NZ and overseas. I love to travel and believe that friendship and family are the most important things in life. I’m a girlfriend, a sister, a daughter and an aunty and one day I hope to run a hectic household filled with children and chaos…

My appendix bursting turned out to be lucky for me. I had my first son in 2003. What followed was years of sadness and disappointment as we tried to add to our family. We had three miscarriages and then after …

I saw my GP repeatedly and they always had a good explanation, a reason why my worsening symptoms were harmless and didn’t require investigation. I was told I was too young for cancer. I self tested myself with a pharmacy screening test for bowel cancer, it was negative. I googled my symptoms and nothing …