"We need to figure out what kind of cancer this is. Whether it's invasive or not".

Sorry, WHAT?!

My oncologist didn't stop for a breath, and my brain frantically tried to keep up while processing what I'd just heard.

I looked down at my notebook, diligently scribbling notes and nodding as she spoke, but I couldn't hear her. The words on the page blurred as my eyes filled with tears.

Cancer? But I'm 32 years old!

During the first lockdown (like everyone else in the country) I set myself a local fitness challenge. I'd decided to cycle John o Groats to Lands End to keep my bod fit and my brain happy. I hadn't ridden a bike in YEARS, but seeing as it was one of few legal activities available, I thought I'd give it a bash.

300 miles into my journey I realised I was losing weight, but my stomach was still bloated. I thought it was lockdown snacks but during a phone call with my sister I felt something unusual. I figured it would be a cyst or a fibroid, but it turned out to be a low grade type of Ovarian Cancer.

2 weeks later I was having surgery.

My tumour was the size of a small football (11cm x 9cm), fortunately they managed to remove the entire thing meaning I didn't need any chemo.

I've been INCREDIBLY lucky.

But not everyone is. 

It's a year on and I've decided to put my health to good use and cycle the route for real, but this time, I'm making it as wild as possible, and i'll be raising money for Ovarian Cancer Action.

For the next 5 weeks I'll be cycling 1,200 miles across some of Britain’s wild and remote terrain, with everything I need strapped to my bike. I'm doing this solo and unsupported, and I'll be mostly wild camping and eating cold beans out of a tin (yum).

Until surgery, I didn't know whether my Ovarian cancer was invasive or not, so I spent two weeks Doom Scrolling on Google (0/10 do not recommend), and this is what I discovered:

The symptoms are vague (bloating, frequent peeing, difficulty eating, stomach pain) meaning it doesn’t get diagnosed until later stages.

43% will survive 5 years
35% will survive 10 years

There’s no screening test for Ovarian Cancer (smears only catch cervical cancer). Breast cancer had better survival rates 2 generations ago than Ovarian Cancer does today, and Ovarian cancer kills more people than all gynaecological cancers COMBINED.

We urgently need a screening test to catch signs of the disease earlier, saving many lives.

Ovarian Cancer Action is committed to doing just that. They fund research that focuses on prevention, early detection and treatment of Ovarian Cancer. Since Covid they’ve lost 50% of their income, so donations are more important than ever.

If you’d like to support me on this journey, here are some things you can do:

1. Donate
2. Share this page and encourage donations. Do you know any businesses with a budget who might like to support?
3. Learn the symptoms and tell everyone you know
4. Have you got any contacts who could help us spread this message?

I honestly don’t know how this is going to go, I’ve never done anything like this before and I feel sick and wildly unprepared, but I’m going to give it my best shot.

If you want to follow along I’ll be updating my instagram @adventure_logistics_queen, and i'll be popping my route on Komoot @adventure_logistics_queen.

I hope you’ll join me for the ride x