MEDI-FILE 1 THE SILENT killer

Siobhan's sluggishness hid a sinister secret Siobhan O'Sullivan, 48, Sydney

Sitting up sharply in a stomach crunch at bootcamp, I grimaced.

The dense, heavy feeling in my stomach just wouldn't go away.

With a terribly sick 92-year-old father, Daniel, I wondered if it was just stress. But as days passed and the sluggish sensation remained, a niggling worry lodged in my mind.

Something's not right,

I thought, feeling my swollen midsection.

My GP suspected constipation, irritable bowel syndrome and even appendicitis. But three week later, in August 2020, I went back to my doctor feeling out of sorts.

When they rang to say something strange had shown on blood tests and I needed to go to hospital, I was worried.

At Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, doctors ran more blood tests and a CT scan. Afterwards, the doctor had shocking news.

‘When I tell you this, your life will change forever,’ he said. ‘You have stage 3 ovarian cancer.’