10/07/2026
When Peggy retired from her career as a magazine editor, cancer was the last thing on her mind. Just weeks later, she noticed a small hard lump in her groin. After a series of tests and a biopsy, the lump turned out to be a lymph node and Peggy was diagnosed with Stage 3 high-grade serous ovarian cancer.
Surgery and six rounds of chemotherapy followed. Today, ten years later, Peggy is healthy and grateful for the experience she had: "I am one of the very fortunate women who have been treated for ovarian cancer because ten years later I am alive, healthy and active.”
While Peggy’s ovarian cancer experience is one with good outcomes, it also reveals the complexities of genetic testing. Because her mother had died of ovarian cancer, Peggy had undergone genetic testing years before her diagnosis and was told she did not carry a mutation associated with the disease: “I was told that because I didn't carry a genetic mutation that could lead to ovarian cancer, I had the same risk of being diagnosed as any other Canadian woman my age. I think that this advice made both me and my family doctor less vigilant about symptoms.”
It wasn't until after both her own diagnosis and a tumour being found in her sister's fallopian tube during preventive surgery, that Peggy was offered more comprehensive genetic testing. This revealed that she did carry a rare genetic mutation linked to an increased risk of ovarian and breast cancers.
Throughout treatment and recovery, Peggy turned to Ovarian Cancer Canada and our Understanding Ovarian Cancer Guide for information and support: "It was my bible. I read it cover-to-cover and turned to it for many questions I had about the disease and what to expect from treatment and post-treatment. I felt I could rely on the information as accurate and dependable."
Ten years after her diagnosis, Peggy remains connected to Ovarian Cancer Canada as a donor, Walk of Hope participant and advocate for research: “Like all women who have experienced ovarian cancer and their families, I fervently hope that researchers will soon discover a robust early detection tool that works for every woman so that preventive surgery isn't needed.”
📕 Learn more about genetic testing and download our guide at ovariancanada.org.
💙 Share your ovarian cancer story at https://ovariancanada.org/share-your-story
