Just a few months after her 21st birthday Laura Langdon began experiencing abdominal pain and bloating. At first, the student, now 23, didn’t think too much of her symptoms as a young, healthy woman.
‘I assumed it was just period pain, or that maybe my tummy didn’t like something that I’d eaten,’ she recalled.
‘But I became more concerned as the pain and bloating became more and more persistent.’
Just a few months after her 21st birthday Laura Langdon (pictured) began experiencing abdominal pain and bloating
Ms Langdon, a health science student from Melbourne, put off going to the doctor for a few weeks due to her busy schedule consisting of study and work.
‘The thing that eventually pushed me to make an appointment with a doctor was when I broke out in a rash after eating dinner one night,’ Ms Langdon told FEMAIL.
‘One of the causes of pain and bloating that I’d read about during my ”googling” was coeliac disease, and I recalled that rashes were another symptom too, so I thought I’d better go and get myself checked.
![At first, the student, now 23, didn't think too much of her pain and symptoms as she felt she was a young, healthy woman](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/06/01/4706445300000578-5149809-At_first_the_student_now_23_didn_t_think_too_much_of_her_pain_an-m-22_1512525355288.jpg)
At first, the student, now 23, didn’t think too much of her pain and symptoms as she felt she was a young, healthy woman
‘The doctor poked and prodded my belly and agreed that I was very bloated, so sent me to get a blood test,’ she added.
‘I went back for the results a couple of days later and got the shock of my life when the doctor told me I was pregnant.’
Ms Langdon said after telling the doctor that there was ”absolutely no chance” she could be pregnant, she was given the explanation that it was a false positive.
‘[The doctor] said that an ultrasound was not necessary given my age, but that I could have another blood test in three weeks’ time to make sure everything was back to normal by then,’ Ms Langdon said.
![Ms Langdon said one morning she woke up with an excruciating pain in her left side. ''Every little movement was agony' she told FEMAIL (stock image)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/06/01/4707197E00000578-5149809-image-a-16_1512524191521.jpg)
Ms Langdon said one morning she woke up with an excruciating pain in her left side. ”Every little movement was agony’ she told FEMAIL (stock image)
![Ms Langdon (pictured left) said she sought advice from ''Dr Google" and read about coeliac disease](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/06/01/4706447000000578-5149809-image-m-18_1512524207541.jpg)
Ms Langdon (pictured left) said she sought advice from ”Dr Google” and read about coeliac disease
‘One morning I woke up with an excruciating pain in my left side. I had never felt anything like it. Every little movement was agony.’
The severe pain prompted Ms Langdon to get a second opinion, but surprisingly, another blood test showed that she was pregnant.
‘This doctor couldn’t explain my symptoms either,’ she said. ‘I left that appointment with referrals for two ultrasounds and another blood test, and a urine sample kit.’
During the ultrasound, Ms Langdon said she was ”frustrated and terrified” as she was told by the sonographer to go back to her doctor and to ”take someone with you”.
![After an 18cm tumour on her ovary was found to be cancerous, Ms Langdon underwent three months of chemotherapy](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/06/01/4706448600000578-5149809-image-a-19_1512524228026.jpg)
After an 18cm tumour on her ovary was found to be cancerous, Ms Langdon underwent three months of chemotherapy
It was in the doctor’s surgery that Ms Langdon was informed she had an 18cm tumour on her ovary.
‘I struggled to believe it. I thought there must’ve been a mistake,’ she recalled.
‘We didn’t know whether it was cancerous or not at this point, and wouldn’t know until the tumour was removed and tested,’ she explained.
‘I had surgery exactly one week after my ultrasound. The pathology results came back four days after that, confirming that it was ovarian cancer,’ she added.
‘It all happened very quickly.’
![Ms Langdon (pictured) completed her Health Science degree and is now completing a Master of Occupational Therapy with the ambition of specialising in oncology and palliative care](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2017/12/06/01/4706445C00000578-5149809-image-m-21_1512525244141.jpg)
Ms Langdon (pictured) completed her Health Science degree and is now completing a Master of Occupational Therapy with the ambition of specialising in oncology and palliative care
Ms Langdon underwent three months of chemotherapy and now has frequent medical check-ups to ensure the cancer hasn’t come back.
‘Life doesn’t go back to normal after cancer. I found it really difficult to accept and come to terms with that for a long time,’ she said.
‘It’s been almost two years since my diagnosis. I still think about cancer every single day.’
Although ovarian cancer is most common in women over the age of 50 and in women who have stopped menstruating, Ms Langdon said young women with symptoms should be checked.
‘Doctors may be experts of medicine, but you are the expert of your own body. If you feel that something is not right, no one can tell you otherwise – no one else can tell you what or how you feel,’ she said.
‘Since meeting other people my age through various youth cancer organisations, I’ve learned that misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis are scarily common – because ‘young people don’t get cancer’.
‘It’s the same situation with ovarian cancer too because the symptoms are so non-specific, and it’s not a particularly common disease.
‘It may be rare, but it still happens. And it can happen to anyone,’ she concluded.