Gilly McLaren will never forget the day a doctor finally confirmed she had ovarian cancer.
The news came as a shock. Not only because the disease was threatening her life.
But because it had also taken away her choice to have children.
It had followed a lengthy 18 months of misdiagnosis – which cost the Stirling art and design teacher her fertility.
“I was called in to hospital on March 4, 2020 and I will never forget it,” the 37-year-old says.
“As I drove there, I just had a real sense that something wasn’t right.
“My mum came with me but I chose to go into the appointment on my own.
“I went into the room and saw a doctor I didn’t recognise. There was also a nurse there.
“As I sat down he asked me: ‘Do you have anyone with you?’
“And at that point, my life irreversibly changed. I just knew it was cancer.
Losing her fertility
“He then told me I had low grade ovarian cancer and that now it had spread too far and I would lose my fertility.”
She adds: “That was the day I found out I would never be able to have children. I just sat there in shock.”
Gilly was admitted to the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital, Glasgow for life-saving abdominal surgery.
As part of her recovery during Covid, Gilly spent some time at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee having treatment.
During her stay, she did some drawings of the NHS staff who cared for her and her work is now on display at the hospital.
It has taken the professional artist a few years to come to terms with the heart-breaking diagnosis which came as a devastating blow.
But now she has had a new lease of life after launching her own girls’ netball club in Dunblane.
When did Gilly first start having symptoms?
Gilly first started noticing distinctive changes in her body when she was aged 31.
“I was experiencing viral symptoms and urine infection symptoms. I also had bowel changes that were different for me.
“At times I had a lack of appetite, reflux and nausea but it wasn’t consistent, it came and went.
“Other than that I was young, active and had a healthy diet.
“It’s important to say that people shouldn’t exclude themselves from a potential diagnosis of ovarian cancer because they don’t have every symptom listed on Google.
“For example one of the symptoms listed is bloating which I didn’t have initially.
“But I did have it later on when the cancer had advanced.”
Going to the doctor’s
In autumn 2018, after Gilly continued experiencing increasing weakness, fatigue and flu-like symptoms, she went to her doctor in Stirling.
“I was checked over and the doctor ended up referring me for an ultrasound scan in October,” she explains.
“The scan was looked at by a radiographer who saw a cyst and suspicious signs of malignancy.
“I was absolutely stunned and shocked when I was told this. I couldn’t believe it.
“In the November I was referred to gynaecology.
“They told me I shouldn’t worry as it was just a suspicion and they would check it all out.”
She had a CA125 blood test which checks for raised levels of a protein called CA125.
CA125 is a biomarker for ovarian cancer and is often elevated in the blood of people with ovarian cancer.
But it came back at a normal level at 25.
Stirling teacher given a ‘routine referral’
However, despite the suspicion signs, Gilly’s gynaecological referral was put down as a routine referral rather than an urgent one as her cyst was classed as benign.
She ended up going back to her GP in December as she was still feeling unwell.
Gilly, who was teaching art and design at a school at the time, continues: “At the start of 2019, I was referred back to gynaecology for another scan.
“But they thought it was just a benign dermoid cyst on my left ovary so it wasn’t followed up.”
Worsening symptoms
Gilly symptoms worsened, including migraines, more urine infections, worsening bowel symptoms and ongoing fatigue.
Another ultrasound scan revealed the cyst had grown from 2cm by 3cm in November 2018 to 5cm by 6cm.
There was also a new cyst on her right ovary measuring 2cm by 3cm.
By this stage Gilly had done her own research and was convinced she had ovarian cancer.
Yet she says her findings were dismissed.
She pushed for a CA125 blood test to be taken again and this time it had risen to 113.
Ovarian cancer diagnosis
The following month Gilly’s worst fears were eventually confirmed when she was finally diagnosed with low grade ovarian cancer.
Low grade cancers tend to grow more slowly.
“I remember walking out of the hospital and telling my dad. When I told him I was losing my fertility I almost collapsed against the car because it was such a shock.”
As the country went into lockdown, Gilly had life-saving abdominal surgery including removal of her womb, ovaries and appendix on March 31.
“My Christian faith carried me through those dark days and the fact that so many people were praying for me is what got me through it,” she says.
“My family and friends were so supportive. They helped me so much as did my wonderful counsellor.
“My surgeon was also amazing – she saved my life.”
After surgery, Gilly went on to have chemotherapy and lost most of her hair.
Ninewells staff exhibition
It was during her recovery, as she spent some time in Ninewells Hospital, that she started drawing staff, including doctors, cleaners, porters and dieticians.
“My drawings, called ‘Portraits and Tales from a Hospital Bed’ portray some of the amazing people who looked after me,” she says.
“The staff were working under such pressure.
“And I was inspired by their incredible self sacrifice and how they all worked together as a team to look after patients.
“Drawing their portraits and then gifting them to them was my way of thanking them all.
“The drawings also immortalise a unique moment in time because they were done during the Covid pandemic.”
Gilly’s collection of 22 sketches of NHS workers are now part of a permanent exhibition in Ninewells Hospital.
Launching a girls netball club
Four years on from her diagnosis, Gilly has been able to process what she has been through with the help of counselling.
“My counsellor has been an absolute godsend. I honestly don’t know where I would be without her support.”
And in February 2023, she decided to launch the girls’ netball club which has given her a new focus.
The club offers sessions for under 15s and over 16s.
She says: “The Jets Netball Club has been really good for me and has given me a new lease of life.
“I have a passion for netball I wanted to share and one of my aims with the club is to promote positive wellbeing and mental health.
“I want it to be a safe and happy space that girls can come to every week where they can have fun. It also helps to build their confidence and resilience.
“It’s been going really well so far.”
She also hopes to start art classes for adults and children soon in the area.
Gilly adds: “It took me a long time to process being diagnosed with ovarian cancer and coming to terms with the fact I would never have children.
“But while it is a pain I will always carry with me, there is now hope which is slowly emerging from those very dark times.”
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