Ep 8 Gemma the creatrix and lawyer

Living With Ovarian Cancer Podcast

Living with Ovarian Cancer’ is a Podcast full of inspiring stories told by Women or their loved ones, who themselves have lived with, or are still living with Ovarian Cancer.

Each Woman’s story is a gift; unique and is told from the heart in their own words. I am your host, Diane Evans-Wood.

In this episode, I am talking to Gemma Lodge who shares her story about her long and winding road of being diagnosed with Ovarian cancer. Her story begins with what was thought to be an isolated Pulmonary Embolism, but she soon developed other symptoms that were attributed to stressful life events at the time. A holiday to Texas saw Gemma taken to hospital as an emergency where she was subsequently diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. On her immediate return to the UK, she had urgent surgery followed by chemotherapy and Avastin, but this was not effective as a scan showed disease progression. She started a different treatment regime which fortunately is showing a reduction of disease. Gemma tells me how she was at the height of her Law career at the time and had to take sick leave. As a professional with an individual client case load it was essential to be reliable and consistent, but Gemma describes why she wasn’t able to continue to work during chemotherapy. We touch on the difficulties surrounding whether to tell an estranged family member about her diagnosis and then the guilt associated with the decision not to.

Content warning: we talk about how surgery sadly took away Gemma’s ability to have children of her own and how that impacted on her emotionally. Our conversation also broaches hospice and palliative care which is really helping Gemma’s quality of life. Gemma’s partner has recently proposed to her and so she is now able to focus on planning their wedding. We all wish them both every happiness in their married life together.

Thank you so much for listening to ‘Living with Ovarian Cancer’. If you want to get in touch with me or you would like to tell your own story on this Podcast about living with Ovarian Cancer, please email [e-mail]

You can find more information about me on my website by following this link: https://dianeevanswood.wordpress.com

My sincere gratitude to Gary and Ruthie Colcombe who continue to carry out all the editing and uploading of each episode of this Podcast. I couldn’t have managed without them! You can find their Podcasts here http://celticmythpodshow.comand https://inbedwithadruid.com

Intro and outro music is called ‘Waltz for the little mermaid’ by Meidi Goh. To read more about Meidi please follow this link http://meidigoh.com

Before you go, please don’t forget to click ‘subscribe’ to this Podcast so that you don’t miss future episodes and also if you could leave a rating, I’d be very grateful.

Disclaimer: Each story in this Podcast is unique to the woman who is telling it. The content of each episode and the views expressed are not meant to be a substitute for medical advice or intervention. You will hear stories of women who sought alternative therapies, integrated oncology services or even choosing to decline treatment options. However, this is their story, and I am not advocating that you follow the path of any one woman who features in the podcast. If you have a diagnosis of Ovarian Cancer, please make sure that you discuss anything that is going to affect your treatment or wellbeing with your own Medical team. You are unique and so what’s right for one woman may not be right for you!