It’s every mother’s fear that they might not be around to watch their children grow up.
When Erin Barrett gave birth to her baby daughter in September, she was also faced with a cancer battle as doctors removed a 6lb tumour from her ovary.
She is now undergoing chemotherapy and soon radiotherapy to treat the disease, which has fortunately been discovered at its early stages.
Sadly, due to lack of symptoms and awareness many women do not get diagnosed so quickly with fatal consequences.
I’ve debated long and hard about posting anything here about my health. This feels like a very personal journey, yet, at...
Posted by [Erin Barrett](https://www.facebook.com/erinjbarrett) on [Tuesday, December 22, 2015](https://www.facebook.com/erinjbarrett/posts/10156294680765573)
She wrote on the social networking site: "Don’t worry, I’ve decided that I’ll be fine, and that’s just the way it is. I feel nothing but positive in regards to my outcome and future plans. Plans that include never facing this again.
And growing my hair back.
"People have asked me what they can do to help. This is something I have struggled with as I have been so well looked after. My decision is to ask you all to help me raise awareness."
She then pleaded for women to recognise symptoms, which include:
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Persistent stomach pain
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Persistent bloating
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Finding it difficult to eat or feeling full quickly
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Needing to pee more often
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Back pain
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Changes to bowel habits (constipation or diarrhoea)
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Feeling tired all the time
Erin then wrote: "They call ovarian cancer the silent killer. This is because the symptoms are so subtle that it is often caught too late. Currently, the odds of getting ovarian cancer are 1 in 58 (compared to 1 in 7 for breast cancer)."
Find out more about ovarian cancer at www.targetovariancancer.org.uk