A woman who put her stomach ache down to the “anxiety” of her break-up was diagnosed with ovarian cancer – aged 19. Storm Reveley, now 22, had just split from her ex-partner when she started suddenly experiencing stomach pains.
At first she put down her pain and loss of appetite down the “anxiety” because of the break-up before trying to cut out dairy in case she was lactose intolerant. But when Storm started to get bloated, feel lightheaded, experiencing painful bladder and abnormal bowel movements she went to see her doctor.
They originally thought she might have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but told her to come back if her pain continued. When her symptoms continued she went to Nottingham City hospital – where they felt a mass on her stomach – which they thought was a twisted ovarian cyst.
Storm went for an emergency surgery to remove it but they found a tumour the size of “an 18 week old foetus” instead. She was diagnosed with germ cell ovarian cancer after a biopsy and had four cycles of chemotherapy – and is now cancer free.
Storm, a beauty therapist, from Nottingham, said: “I was going through a break-up at the time and thought it was general anxiety. It started all of a sudden and I got diagnosed not long after.
“I struggled with grieving the old me. Your body image changes – I lost my hair and had to wear wigs. It’s the little things you don’t expect.”
Storm suddenly started to get symptoms in March 2021. She said: “I started getting a little bit of belly ache. I thought I was lactose intolerant.”
But despite cutting out dairy, Storm continued to get abdominal pain as well as feeling sick and a loss of appetite. She said: “I couldn’t eat anything. I would have a mouthful and be full. That’s not like me.”
Storm also noticed she was losing weight, bloating a lot and feeling lightheaded. She said: “It was like I was walking into water all the time. It takes your breath away a little bit. I started waking up in the middle of the night with a painful bladder. Paired with abnormal bowel movements.”
Storm went to see a doctor who originally thought it was IBS and was told to “see how you go”. But when a friend spotted Storm in pain at college she took her to hospital. Storm said: “They felt my tummy and told me they could feel a mass.
“The lady at 111 felt my stomach – she said to the hospital that she could feel a mass the size of an 18 week old foetus. I went back in the morning for an ultrasound. They couldn’t see my ovary at all.”
Storm was admitted for a CT scan but when she started to get poorly and showing signs of infection, doctors decided to take her to surgery in May 2021. She said: “They said they think it is a twisted ovarian cyst. They prepped me for keyhole surgery but when they operated they realised it was going to be major surgery.
“It was a tumour and not a cyst.”
Following a six hour surgery, Storm had the tumour removed and then waited for her biopsy results. She said: “I was in so much pain I was so glad about having the surgery and the pain to be gone. “I felt relieved. I probably didn’t understand the full extent.”
She was diagnosed with germ cell ovarian cancer in June 2021. Storm said: “When I got my diagnosis my immediate reaction was to burst out crying because my parents were.
“But at the time they didn’t say it was cancer. They said it was a germ cell tumour and I had to say ‘is that cancer?'”
Storm was then started on chemotherapy later that month to get rid of the cancer completely and rang the bell in September 2021. She had stayed positive throughout treatment but struggled afterwards.
Storm said: “I didn’t allow myself to feel any of the anger, frustration or sadness. It has an impact on you when you finish treatment. It doesn’t end when you ring the bell.”
Storm says she now grieves the “old me” and her cancer treatment could have impacted her fertility. She said: “They don’t know for definite. My egg count is lower than the average person my age but I’m still fertile to an extent.
“You think for the future – how am I going to feel when my friends are having babies if I can’t.”