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Ovarian cancer diagnosis forced endometriosis sufferer to change her life – less work, better diet, more exercise
- Feeling burned out from work and a poor diet, Po Lee was diagnosed with ovarian cancer after an ultrasound turned up two cysts
- It’s a ‘silent killer’ – screening is hard, it shows few symptoms; Lee urges women to get annual check-ups, particularly ultrasounds for endometriosis sufferers
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Work, as it does for many young Hong Kong professionals, once ruled Po Lee’s life – and it took a toll on her physical and mental health. Only after a life-threatening wake-up call did she see the need for some semblance of work-life balance.
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“Sometimes, I’d work overnight as I had urgent deadlines,” recalls the 30-something logistics industry professional using a pseudonym. Burned out, feeling suicidal and overwhelmed, Lee decided to seek help in December 2018. “But even though I had counselling … I still felt my mind was not well.”
It wasn’t just her mental health that was poor. The lifestyle she led was not particularly healthy, active or social – she would eat fast food and, when working overnight, she would snack on less-than-nourishing instant noodles.
When Lee was diagnosed with Stage 1C ovarian cancer in April 2019, she knew her priorities had to change.
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Lee had endured painful periods since she was young and often needed painkillers. Her doctors suspected she might have endometriosis – a condition in which tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other places, such as the ovaries and Fallopian tubes. It is a risk factor for endometrioid carcinoma, the cancer that now affected her.
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