A young mum who was diagnosed with incurable ovarian cancer has urged other women to be aware of the disease and its symptoms, regardless of their age.
Alex Littlewood, 25, from Huddersfield, was told she had the illness in June this year, just months after she gave birth to her daughter, Tilly.
According to the NHS, ovarian cancer mostly affects women over the age of 50, but Alex – who is now undergoing intensive chemotherapy – said her experience showed younger women were also at risk.
She said anyone who suspected there was something wrong should “push to go to the doctors, push for the tests you deserve and get an answer”.
Alex said her initial symptoms were back and abdominal pain, which she first detected while she was pregnant with seven-month-old Tilly.
“Throughout pregnancy, I was told that’s normal – a lot of women have back and abdominal pain during pregnancy,” she explained.
“But after having Tilly, I found it was just persistent and just carried on.
“So the back pain and abdominal pain were two of my biggest symptoms and how I knew something wasn’t right.”
