When Caroline Bailey was suffering with sharp, stabbing pains in her stomach, she thought it was being caused by her contraceptive coil.

In severe pain, the 54-year-old went to her GP, desperate to have it removed, only for scans to reveal it was in fact a 13cm (5in) tumour pressing against her coil, external.

She was diagnosed with stage three ovarian cancer, external in June 2023 and feared she might not live for another two years.

Now, with no evidence of disease after chemotherapy and surgery, she said: “I absolutely think that the coil saved my life, which is mad.”

She had been experiencing severe abdominal pain since March and thought the coil was to blame.

“I started to have the worst stomach pains – like a stabbing pain in the middle of my abdomen,” she said.

“So, I kept going back into the doctors and said, ‘I think the coil needs to come out’.”

Caroline, from Trelogan, Flintshire, said she was referred to a sexual health clinic as there were no appointments available, but staff there could not remove it.

With her pain getting worse, she “crawled into the doctors on my hands and knees” in May, asking for the coil to be removed.

“I wanted to rip it out myself, but you can’t. I thought it was killing me.”

“I was going to the doctor, saying, ‘This coil is stabbing me’, and I just hate how long it took for me to be taken seriously.

“I wish it was easier for women to get diagnosed.”

Caroline was diagnosed with endometriosis – where cells similar to those in the lining of the womb grow in other parts of the body – in her mid 20s.

But, with “no history of ovarian cancer in the family whatsoever” so thought her pain was being caused by her coil.

Caroline said she was given a CA125 blood test form, which is used to check the level of the CA125 protein in the blood and can support a diagnosis of ovarian cancer, as her doctor wanted to see if that was causing the problems.

She was given this form as, although she believed it was the coil causing her pain, a doctor wanted to check for ovarian cancer due to her symptoms.

She took a blood test that can support a diagnosis of ovarian cancer that returned a reading of proteins of 72 units per ml (U/ml).

According to charity Ovarian Cancer Action, women over 40 should be referred for further investigations if it is over 35 U/ml.

Caroline was put on a two-week pathway, which she described as being “in this crazy world of, oh my God”.

Subsequent scans revealed the tumour and a biopsy confirmed the cancer was stage three and it had spread to the omentum – a large piece of fatty tissue that lies near to the womb and ovaries.

The NHS lists the main symptoms of ovarian cancer, external as frequently – approximately 12 or more times a month – having:

“I couldn’t believe the size of it. I actually thought, ‘I won’t live for another two years’,” Caroline said.

She started chemotherapy soon after and had four rounds of treatment at The Christie in Manchester, which shrank her tumour to 8cm (3in).

On October 26, she had a total hysterectomy – where the womb and cervix are removed – along with the removal of her omentum and appendix during a six-hour operation.

The surgery means Caroline now has no evidence of disease, but she was told ovarian cancer can be “unpredictable” with a high re-occurrence rate.

One month after her surgery, Caroline’s grandson Roman was born, and she underwent two further rounds of chemotherapy in January 2024, along with follow-up CT scans.

As part of the testing, it was revealed that she had gene mutations that increased her risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

Caroline is now having consultations about a double mastectomy to remove both breasts, along with reconstruction surgery and implants, as part of a trial, and her family members are being genetically tested.

“But the best thing about this, about having ovarian cancer, is my girls know what they’re dealing with and they can have preventative surgery,” she said.

“My diagnosis makes me live for now… and what I know now is, tomorrow is definitely not guaranteed.”

Caroline moved house several times during her treatment, got divorced and lost her job – even living out of her car – and said money was her “biggest worry”.

She now wants to encourage other women to get any unusual symptoms checked and to advocate for themselves.

“I’ve definitely had to change my life because I had cancer,” she said.

“My motto is: Be healthy, be happy, be kind.”

Cancer Research UK, external said ovarian cancer was the 16th most common cancer, with about 7,700 new cases every year.

In July 2026, 51.3% of women started their first definitive treatment within 62 days, external of first being suspected of having gynaecological cancer – well below the target of 75% – according to Welsh government data.