Grainne Morgan-O’Rourke, believed the pain she was experiencing was just a pulled muscle, but tests showed it was something more sinister after she was sent for an ultrasound
An Irish woman has described the “shocking” moment she discovered she had cancer – after experiencing what she believed was a strained muscle.
Grainne Morgan-O’Rourke, from Carrickmacross in Monaghan, visited her GP in August 2022 for a smear test and casually mentioned that she had pulled a muscle in her abdomen.
“In July, I pulled what I thought was a muscle in my stomach because I twisted really, really fast so it was just like a muscle pain right in the middle of my stomach and it kind of lingered for two weeks,” Grainne told Chic.
“I was going to my GP anyway for my smear test at the start of August so I mentioned to her, ‘you know, I pulled a muscle and it’s annoying me’.
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“She sent me for an ultrasound at my local hospital but I was just thinking, ‘ah sure, it’s just an ultrasound’,” reports RSVP Live. “I had the ultrasound at my local hospital and then I was referred on the two-week wait for gynae.”
The scan uncovered a substantial ovarian cyst, leading to further scans and examinations, with the mother-of-two also being referred to a specialist. “[During that time] I was Googling away but I was thinking, ‘it’s only a large ovarian cyst, sure I’ll be grand’.
“When I was referred to a consultant, he said, ‘look, we don’t know what we’re dealing with at the moment. There’s two options, I can go in and take out one ovary and one tube or do the full hysterectomy’. And I just said, ‘look it, I’ve two kids, I’m 44, I’m not having anymore, take it because I don’t want to go back for more surgery’.”
After the operation, Grainne understood she would be thrust into surgical menopause, but she said concerns about the potential side effects weren’t sufficient to put her off having the procedure.
“I’m very, ‘ah sure what will be will be’ so I just thought, ‘just take it’ because I didn’t want to go in for more surgery so I said I’d just deal with menopause when it comes. My recovery from that surgery, I was very lucky. My nurses advised me I had to do a little bit of exercise every day and eat a balanced diet and I’m very lucky because my mam did come up to me every day for two weeks and cook the meat and two veg dinners which, believe it or not, does help with your recovery.”
Grainne underwent a hysterectomy in November of 2022 and three weeks after the operation, she was summoned back to the hospital – it was then she learnt that the cyst had indeed harboured cancer cells. She was given a diagnosis of stage 1A clear cell ovarian cancer – a rare and aggressive form of cancer which, fortunately, was detected early and remained contained.
“Five per cent of the cyst did contain cancer cells,” Grainne said. “It was a shock. I was worried about the cyst but I never thought it was cancer because my bloods were all pretty normal enough and my scans were normal apart from the cyst.
“Hearing the words cancer, I thought, ‘this is it, I’m going to die’ but it was so nice because I was told by the consultant, ‘look, you dodged a bullet, it’s all gone, surgery got rid of it, go live your life’.”
Doctors later recommended precautionary chemotherapy as a safety measure. “I did four rounds of chemo from the 9th of January, 2023 and that ended roughly the 20th March, 2023. I got that done locally. My first day I was about six or seven hours and then it was every three weeks for around five hours.
“Chemo wasn’t easy, don’t get me wrong, but I was very lucky. The first session, the pains and aches in every part of my body on day three, four, five, were absolutely horrendous.
“But for me, every session the side effects were less which was really unusual. The muscle pain was my big side effect from chemotherapy and I had cold hands and feet. But I wasn’t sick, thankfully.
“I lost all my hair; to see it all fall out was horrible, so I got it shaved off the day after my last chemotherapy. I was glad to get rid of it because I was just left with a few strands so I thought, ‘just get rid of it and it’s over. This is it’.
“I got a wig locally in Monaghan and I wore it for a while and then we went on holiday in May 2023 without the wig and I thought, ‘ya know, I’m not wearing this anymore’.”
Grainne took time off work whilst undergoing chemotherapy treatment before going back on reduced hours. “I just thought, ‘well look, it’s done’, and I was just so glad to get back to work.” The hysterectomy resulted in Grainne entering surgical menopause and the nature of her cancer meant she couldn’t take HRT.
“I had a lot of joint point after I finished chemo in March 2023 and up until September, but I don’t know if that was a side effect of the chemo or menopause,” Grainne added. “I also had a little bit of insomnia but I have no symptoms [of menopause] now, I’d say in the last two years.”
Grainne’s children were six and 10 when she was diagnosed and she chose not to inform them about her diagnosis. When she lost her hair due to the chemotherapy drugs, she explained to them that she was “on a special drug that was making my hair fall out”.
“I was told it was gone and to go and live my life so I thought, ‘what’s the point in telling them and worrying them’. I’m discharged from the care now, it’s been three years now. But I’m still on the books in case anything comes up.”
Grainne believes that positive thinking greatly aided her journey, adding: “I felt sorry for myself for the first couple of days after chemo but then a week later when you were getting more energy and all that you’d be thinking, ‘ah well, this is not that bad’.
“I’ve always been overweight anyway and I did put on a bit of weight but I’ve recently lost three stone. I’m eating more than I ever have but I’m just eating better and counting calories so I’ve lost three stone since the end of March this year.”
Despite admitting to having “serious health anxiety”, Grainne tries to maintain a positive outlook. “I would have serious health anxiety since the whole thing. It’s not as bad anymore but I do have serious health anxiety since it all happened. I think because it all happened so quick… but I try to think of the positives not the negative.”
Grainne shared her story with Chic in recognition of World GO Day (Gynaecologic Oncology Awareness Day), a global initiative aimed at raising awareness about gynaecologic cancers, promoting early detection, and supporting those affected.
Her advice to other women is: “Any little change you notice or anything that’s not normal for you, go and get it checked. Stay away from Google because Google is so outdated it’s unbelievable.
“The particular type of cancer I had, when I Googled it, it was telling me life expectancy was one year to two years and I’m at three years now coming in November. So any little thing, no matter how small you think it is, just go and get it checked. And if you are diagnosed with anything, just positive thinking, think of the positives of it not the negative, that’s my advice.”