Interview OV18  

Interview OV18

Age at Interview: 38
Sex: Female
Age at Diagnosis: 33
Background: Doctoral student, married, two children.

Brief outline:Ovarian cancer diagnosed in 1997 following investigations for infertility. Treated by surgical removal of affected ovary followed by chemotherapy. Diagnosis revised as 'borderline' and further treatment aborted in preference for regular monitoring.


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Female
Was concerned that if she lost her hair from chemotherapy everyone would know she had cancer.

 



I think the second time round it was like, God this is going to be a long battle, you know, a really long battle, and, you know, everyone's going to know, I'm going to have, all my hair's going to come out, what am I going to do? Everyone's going to know, you know, what's going on, and that was, I think, more of the concern really. 

It would really kind of throw your life into turmoil, and change the way that other people saw you.

Yes I think so, yeah, you know, because I always… I mean I suppose now when I'm out in the street, if you sort of see somebody with like, you know, no hair or, you know, they've got a scarf on or something like that, a woman, and you think well, you know, pretty sad really. 

So I think that, it's the visible thing is very important actually. It was very important to me, and it's not because I'm especially vain, I don't think, I think it was just the fact that everybody would know, you know? And there is an embarrassment factor I think people feel, like, oh God, you know, I sort of stand out, I'm not normal, and you know….

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