Candice had surgery to help her conceive. Instead, doctors accidentally found cancer

When Candice Hung had surgery to investigate secondary infertility, the last thing she expected was an ovarian cancer diagnosis. 

But two weeks after the laparoscopy in 2017, her doctor told her a growth they found in one of her ovaries burst during the procedure. Tests confirmed it was a rare form of ovarian cancer called adult granulosa cell tumour.

After the initial shock, the Melbourne leadership coach felt “super lucky” it was found early, given the disease is often discovered at a late stage. The survival rate of ovarian cancer is 49 per cent, compared with more than 90 per cent if it is diagnosed at stage one.

Since the cancer hadn’t spread, she only needed to have the affected ovary removed. Soon enough, she and her husband conceived their long-awaited second child.

“Four to six months later I was back at work, and then nine months later I got pregnant with my child naturally. The surgery actually helped because my cycle came back really regular after that, which was actually a really lovely surprise,” Hung, who is also the mother of a 15-year-old, told nine.com.au.

“My son is seven-and-a-half years old now, and he’s a miracle we’ve got him. And also he saved my life, essentially, because if we didn’t try for another child, we would never have discovered the tumour in the first place.”

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Hung was told her cancer is so slow growing it might not return or, if it does, it could be 20 or 30 years down the track. But in March, after almost nine years in remission, the 46-year-old found out the cancer had recurred.

The news followed a routine ultrasound, which picked up a growth on her uterus. When additional scans showed there wasn’t anything to worry about, Hung thought her surgery would be like the last one.

“It ended up being a much longer procedure because when my doctor actually did the surgery … he discovered it had spread quite a bit within my abdomen. They had to remove my other ovary, they had to remove what’s called the omentum, which is a kind of fatty tissue protecting your stomach, and a whole bunch of other areas … it hadn’t spread beyond the abdominal cavity, thank goodness, and it hadn’t penetrated into other organs,” she said. 

“We’d hope that my doctor could get everything he could see visibly, but usually the case is once you have one recurrence, you’re most likely to get another one, and within a shorter time frame as well.”

It’s been a challenging year for Hung and her family, with few treatment options available for such a rare cancer and additional scans that look uncertain. The recurrence is particularly poignant given Hung lost her own mother to stomach cancer when she was 12.

“I think because of timing-wise she was a very similar age to me. When she was diagnosed and the way that she handled it, I don’t want to handle it that way. She kept it to herself a lot, and I think she suffered a lot on her own … there was so much less awareness back then,” she said.

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That experience, and the lessons learnt during her first occurrence, have helped shape Hung’s own approach to cancer and how she wants to live her life. Though she is scared and anxious about the future, she said her faith and sharing her journey with others has helped get her through.

“We're taking it day by day and week by week. Stressing about an unknown future makes me feel worse and actually has an impact as well on my well-being, my overall healing journey,” she said. 

“It really has forced me to be a lot more present for today, to be a lot more thankful for what is here right now, and I think for us reaching out to our family, friends and community has been very intentional.

“We want to be able to, as hard as it is, share with people what’s going on, because then they know how to help and support us and we don’t feel so alone through this. When you feel that you’ve got people around you, you actually feel way more motivated and supported and positive about things and really thankful.”

One way Hung’s community is able to support her is by getting involved in Frocktober, the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation’s annual awareness and fundraising campaign. Money raised goes towards research into more effective treatments and early detection – currently there is no reliable screening test and symptoms are vague and similar to those of other conditions.

Hung is an ambassador for the initiative, which involves dressing up throughout the month of October or holding a one-off event. Both her and her husband’s workplaces have held their own Frocktober fundraisers, and she is speaking at a number of events.

Her message to other women is to “really pay attention to your bodies” and go to the GP if we don’t feel quite right or are worried about something. And if that doctor dismisses your concerns, she encourages looking for another one so you can find someone who will listen.

“It’s OK to change doctors if you don’t find one that you’re gelling with, because there are great doctors out there that are becoming way more informed, and it is a partnership,” she said.

“Your health is really important, so I would say look after yourself and your bodies.”