Calderdale mum with ovarian cancer reveals daughters' diagnosis fears as part of campaign

“My daughters got their hair, eyes and quirky sense of humour from me. I was petrified that I might also have given them a faulty gene, putting them at increased risk of ovarian cancer: a disease they supported me through and I want to raise awareness of for Mothering Sunday,” says Veronica Fairhurst.
Veronica Fairhurst, centre, with daughers Amber, left, and SarahVeronica Fairhurst, centre, with daughers Amber, left, and Sarah
Veronica Fairhurst, centre, with daughers Amber, left, and Sarah

A mother-of-two from Shelf says that finding out that she carried a faulty gene which was most likely the cause of her ovarian cancer was more devastating to her than getting the diagnosis of the disease itself.

For the 57-year-old detention officer at West Yorkshire Police knew that it meant her two grown-up daughters might also have the BRCA gene, giving them a higher chance of contracting ovarian, as well as breast cancer, and the difficult decision of whether to have preventative surgery.

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The news came at a difficult time for Veronica’s eldest daughter Sarah. She had been trying to have a baby for the past five years and being aged 37, she was told if her BRCA test was positive she would be advised to have her ovaries and breasts removed in three years.

“My girls mean the world to me and as a mother it is horrifying to think that because of me they would have to make some very difficult decisions,” said Veronica.. “They had just helped me through treatment - coming to every chemotherapy session with me, looking after me at home and keeping me smiling.

“My friends have been very supportive, but without my daughters it would have been much more difficult. It couldn’t have been easy for them. Amber, who regularly shaved my head, was taking her finals for her degree when I was going through treatment and Sarah had to travel down from Edinburgh where she now lives. And for the first treatment I had both girls with me.

“We are like the comedy trio the Three Stooges and have always been a team since I divorced from my husband over 19 years ago. The diagnosis brought us even closer. But then to be told that they too might be at risk was just awful,” says Veronica who had the BRCA test because her father and brother had died from cancer, the former from breast cancer.

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Fortunately Sarah’s BRCA test was negative: one of those milestone occasions that the family celebrated with champagne, says Veronica. And Amber, aged just 21 and now graduated from her animal behaviour degree at university, will wait until her mid-20s at least before she decides whether to go ahead and find out her status.

So for now Veronica, whose own disease is incurable but treatable, is hugely relieved.

“Sarah’s one desire is to have a baby and to rob her of that I don’t think I would ever have been able to forgive myself,” says Veronica, who has instilled in both of her children the importance of being vigilant to the signs of ovarian cancer.

Veronica herself had been “completely blind” to having ovarian cancer before she was diagnosed in November 2018. For eight months prior she had been suffering from bloating

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- one of the main symptoms of the disease - alongside irregular periods. “It got to the stage where I couldn’t fasten my trousers and I looked six months pregnant,” she recalls.

“I thought the bloating was because of the night shifts I’d been doing and the disruption to my eating habits,” says Veronica, “and my GP had said that my symptoms were probably

because of the menopause so I didn’t think any more about it”.

Veronica went on to ignore her symptoms until she collapsed at work, which put into motion a series of checks. This revealed that she had enlarged lymph nodes and that further investigation was needed with a laparoscopy. During this procedure in November 2018 is was found that Veronica in fact had stage 3a ovarian cancer.

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Chemotherapy, followed by a hysterectomy, then further chemotherapy, which finished in May 2019, has enabled Veronica to get on with her life, in the knowledge that she still has

an enlarged lymph node on her aorta which could not be operated on.

To keep the cancer at bay she is on a maintenance drug, which leaves her tired but able to work and get on with her life which she says she is doing with a more focussed outlook.

“I have become increasingly aware of what is really important and to live each day the best I possibly can. It has brought me and my daughters even closer and I appreciate them so

much more,” says Veronica.

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She is now planning a sky dive this May to celebrate her year anniversary of her last chemotherapy.

This March for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month she is one of 12 models who have been diagnosed with the disease taking part in a high profile catwalk fundraiser for the ovarian cancer charity Ovacome.

“I’m looking forward to celebrating how my body has done me proud,” says Veronica, who will be raising a glass to that with her daughters this Mother’s Day.

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