Waipawa woman opens up about ovarian cancer: Try not to let the cancer overtake everything else [Video]

In 2018 Waipawa woman Sue Richardson had an ultrasound that showed ‘free fluid’ in her pelvis – four years later she was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer.

Richardson said there were many tell-tale signs something was wrong and she repeatedly went to her GP with her concerns.

She suffered from extreme fatigue, chronic headaches, random back pain and chronic pelvic pain that made her fall over.

Then in 2021, at the age of 48, and three days before Christmas, Richardson visited her GP again and was told she had ascites or fluid buildup in her abdomen.

She was put on the list for a CT scan which revealed ovarian cancer.

It was then her life changed.

Richardson was left jobless and waiting for what she described as a spider web formation to shrink to be eligible for surgery.

“Ovarian cancer spreads like a spider web, so it’s a long time before you …