JILL RUDD considers herself one of the lucky ones — two years ago she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, but it was discovered early. With the UK having one of the worst survival rates of ovarian cancer in Europe it is Jill's mission to help change that . . . with awareness.

March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. This month 580 women in the UK will be diagnosed with the disease and 350 of them will die from it — mostly due to late diagnosis.

Compared with breast cancer — which affects around 50,000 women each year in this country — ovarian cancer, which affects 7,000, is still relatively rare. It used to be known as 'the silent killer' because it was thought there were no symptoms until the disease was at an advanced stage. However, it is now known that there are several early symptoms and early diagnosis is key to survival.

Jill Rudd, 72, from Peter Tavy, had never heard of ovarian cancer until she started doing some research into her own symptoms.

'I think it all started a few years ago,' she said.

'I was on holiday and I felt so utterly fatigued — I never felt so tired in my whole life. I could literally have slept all week.

'It settled down for months after that, but later came back. I then started getting other symptoms like bloating and lower pelvic pain.

'At the time I thought "is this what 70 looks like?" because I thought the tiredness was down to age.'

Jill decided to do some research on the internet and when she put in her symptoms into Google every search came back as ovarian cancer.

'That is when I went to my GP,' she said.

'By that time I was getting regular bloating and pain and I looked like I was several months pregnant. The bloating was excessive and I could not get into my favourite jeans. I said to my GP "I think I might have ovarian cancer" and he did a CA 125 test which is the only marker for ovarian cancer at the moment.'

The blood test is not 100% reliable, but it is an indicator that something might be wrong. The test is also used for conditions such as pregnancy, endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease.

'If you have a reading above 35 it could be ovarian cancer,' said Jill. 'Some women with the disease have a reading in the hundreds or thousands and it can be as much as 10,000.

'My reading was only 50 so the doctor was not overly concerned.

'Anyway, they sent me for an ultrasound and they found a mass on the left ovary.'

Jill was diagnosed with Stage 1C high risk fallopian tube cancer in March 2013 and had major surgery followed by four cycles of chemotherapy. She has been in remission since September 2013.

Jill's cancer was an aggressive form of ovarian cancer. There are many forms of this cancer and symptoms can vary from woman to woman. Statistics show that only three percent of women are confident they would recognise the symptoms of ovarian cancer.

Consultant gynaecologist Geoff Hughes, who is the lead for gynaecological cancer at Derriford Hospital, Plymouth said: 'The key to successful treatment for ovarian cancer is early diagnosis. Unfortunately, 70 percent of sufferers are still diagnosed with advanced disease, when treatment is less successful.

'NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) recommends that women should see their doctor if they have any of the following symptoms on a persistent or frequent basis – particularly more than 12 times per month: persistent abdominal distension (women often refer to this as "bloating"), feeling full (early satiety) and/or loss of appetite, pelvic or abdominal pain or increased urinary urgency and/or frequency, especially if over 50 years of age.

'Women with unexplained weight loss, fatigue or changes in bowel habit should also see their GP.  If a woman is over 50 and believes she has recently developed "irritable bowel syndrome" (IBS) she should be aware that this could be a warning sign of ovarian cancer, as IBS rarely presents for the first time in women of that age group.

'In any of these circumstances GPs will arrange the appropriate tests [blood test and/or an ultrasound scan].'

Although 80% of women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer are over the age of 50, it can and does affect much younger women.

Smear tests can show evidence of cervical cancer, but not ovarian cancer.

Jill said many people were diagnosed in A and E departments after collapsing in great pain as they had either not seen a GP about their symptoms or tests were inconclusive.

'Because OC (ovarian cancer) is rare, it is likely that the symptoms are down to something else, but it is important women ask for the test CA 125 to get it checked out and also for GPs to be more aware that the symptoms could be OC,' she said.

'The first thing I thought of when I was diagnosed was "thank God my children are grown up". It is heartbreaking when you see women with young families diagnosed with stage three or four cancer who subsequently die from the disease, because their symptoms were mistaken for IBS, for example.

'It's a tragedy that could be avoided if women seek advice sooner rather than later. If your symptoms are unusual for you, please see your doctor.'

Jill said she would be eternally grateful to her doctor and her 'lovely' oncologist for the care she had received. She said she had also made a great many friends through her experience.

'It has been very hard emotionally to cope with having cancer,' Jill added.

'Even now I find it difficult to get my head around it and know that at any time it could return. I have been very lucky as I have made many wonderful friends across the country who have given me help and support, but I know some women can feel very isolated.'

For this reason Jill is hoping to set up a support group for women of West Devon and East Cornwall who have had a recent diagnosis of ovarian cancer, have a recurrence or are in remission.

There are notices in Tavyside and Abbey surgeries and the Macmillan Outreach Triangle Centre in Tavistock and a notice is due to be put up in Okehampton Medical Centre and other doctors' practices locally. Alternatively you can email Jill at [email protected]">[email protected]

You can also contact Target Ovarian Cancer and Ovacome, which are major charities for ovarian cancer. For further information email [email protected]">[email protected] (telephone 202 7923 5470) or [email protected]">[email protected] (telephone 0207 2996650, this is a nurse-led helpline).