After being diagnosed with low-grade serous ovarian cancer last year at the age of 42 Jo Yates of Noosa has completed treatment, beat the cancer and set up a website containing all the information she struggled to find to help other women in the same situation.
She researched cancer-focused Facebook groups, surveyed other cancer patients and spoke with the people supporting patients to come up with a list of content that patients and their supporters were looking for before launching FUCancer.network (Fabulous You During Cancer).
“Until my diagnosis I hadn’t really heard of ovarian cancer, which is traditionally thought of as an older women’s disease. I was shocked to receive this diagnosis and am now determined to raise awareness for other women with the aim of getting more women into treatment early,” she said.
Jo had no obvious symptoms of her cancer which was diagnosed after her doctor sent her for further testing when a regular Pap smear result detected some strange cells.
The doctor ordered an ultrasound, suspecting Jo had endometriosis, but the scan found tumours on each of her ovaries.
She had surgery, with pathology determining the tumours to be benign, but cancerous cells were detected in her omentum, a sheet of fat that stretches over the abdomen, protecting the organs, and so her doctors recommended she be treated with chemotherapy.
“While I had all the confidence in the world with my medical team, I really struggled with my changed appearance and body as I went through treatment. I also found it hard to find un-medical, more relatable information to help me feel my best despite what I was going through,” Jo said.
“It’s a crappy thing to go through. You want to be reading something positive.”
At the time of her diagnosis Jo was fit, healthy and enjoying an active lifestyle, but really struggled with the way the treatment changed her appearance and her body. She was unable to find easy to access information on managing these changes in a way that spoke to her. There was plenty of medical information available but it was pretty dry and there was a lack of information on the ‘softer’ side effects of treatment, hence why she decided to create her site.
“I was losing hair and eyebrows. It was very hard to deal with as well as nausea and weight gain,” she said.
Her website contains tips like using a cold cap before and after chemo to reduce hair loss, the pros and cons of wig wearing and the changes to your hair when it regrows.
Content covers skin care and changes to body to help patients understand what to expect and how to manage these with recommendations on products that she found helpful.
“I wasted a huge amount of money on various products to try to manage these appearance changes and I know other women have too. I wanted to recommend products I found helpful to help others avoid wasted money at a time when finances can be a struggle,” she said.
There are also articles for family and friends of cancer patients such as What Not to Say to Someone With Cancer that are filled with advice from first hand experience and the feedback of other patients.
“You won’t believe the amount of people who told me they knew someone who died of cancer when I told them I was in treatment. I know it’s coming from a place of (misplaced) empathy but it isn’t helpful and I wanted to help spare other people from this conversation,” she said.
At the start of her treatment Jo found her friends and family struggled with knowing what to do to help. A friend who had been through supporting her mother with breast cancer arranged a chemo care pack for Jo which she says was incredibly helpful. I had no idea what I might need to get through chemotherapy so having that pack was not only a thoughtful and practical gift but took away some of the mental stress in preparing for treatment. I have taken this idea and curated chemo packs supporters can send to someone starting cancer treatment.
It is estimated there will be over 162,000 cases of cancer diagnoses in Australia in 2022. Around 89,000 of those are male and over 73,000 women. That number is expected to rise in the coming years.
Jo intends to regularly update content as she is always learning from her fellow cancer patients.
To view her site visit fucancer.network/
