A mom-of-three was devastated after doctors dismissed her cancer symptoms as a hernia because she was too 'fit and young' to be seriously ill.

Lydia Southam visited her primary care doctor ten times beginning in 2021, she said, complaining of heavy periods, a lump in her stomach, bloating and frequent urination.

Despite her repeated appointments, however, she said her concerns were brushed off.

The 37-year-old, from Stratford-upon-Avon in the UK, was only sent for testing two years after her first complaints when a female doctor realized 'something wasn't right'.

Southam was referred to Warwick Hospital in England in June 2023, where testing revealed she had stage 4 low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC).

She said: 'I did naively believe [the doctors]. I was relatively fit and well; I was still going to the gym and doing everything normally.

'As a woman you're just told to deal with these symptoms - you have to power through. Because the [doctor] wasn't concerned I wasn't concerned.

'The potential outcome is that it could have been really quite bad for me.'

She said: 'I've always struggled with heavier periods but they were getting heavier at the time. I'd gone in to see the [doctor] about that initially but I was dismissed.'

Then, when Southam got pregnant for the third time, her pain worsened - but again her concerns were brushed aside, she claimed. 

She added: 'When I was pregnant there was a lump on my tummy and they said it was due to the pregnancy.

'I'd gone in with a lot of pain and I felt like the baby had no space. I was saying it doesn't feel like she has any room to move.

'After that I had symptoms, like frequent urination, pain, and bloating.'

Months later, more unusual signs appeared, but Southam said they were misdiagnosed yet again.

She said: 'Fast forward another six months I had some spots that turned up on the right hand side of my abdomen.

'I then went back in when I found a lump, which looked like a hernia on my tummy. They just told me it was a hernia, they did no scans, and booked me in for an operation.'

A hernia occurs when an organ or fatty tissue breaks through a weak spot in the surrounding muscle or tissue. They most often occur in the abdomen or groin as a lump that can become more noticeable when coughing or lifting objects.  

Despite finding more lumps, she says doctors continued to reassure her.

She added: 'Then I went back in and had a lump on my groin and something wasn't right. I knew something was wrong and ended up going in around 10 times.

'I finally went back to the [doctor] but this time I had a female doctor who noticed something wasn't right.'

Southam pushed for further investigation after being repeatedly told ovarian cancer was unlikely.

She said: 'They said ovarian cancer happens to older ladies and that I was too young and fit for that, but I pushed for further investigation.

Southam finally made it to a doctor who did a biopsy on the lumps, which revealed the 'very advanced' LGSOC.

'It was awful to be honest,' she said. 'My first thought was I need to be here for my kids. The nurse said she didn't know if there was much they could do.'

LGSOC is a rare and slow-growing type of ovarian cancer that disproportionately affects younger women. The average age of diagnosis is 45 years old. 

This subtype makes up about two to five percent of all ovarian cancers. In the US, there are about 21,000 new ovarian cancer cases per year, meaning there are approximately 400 to 1,000 new LGSOC cases per year, according to current available sources. 

According to the LGSOC Initiative, symptoms include abdominal and pelvic pain, stomach bloating, fatigue, frequent need to urinate, changes to bowel movements, nausea and vomiting, gas and indigestion, loss of appetite, pain with sex, vaginal discharge and bleeding not related to the normal menstrual cycle and unexplained weight loss. 

About 70 percent of people are diagnosed when the cancer is at least stage 3. 

Treatment includes surgery to try and remove the cancer followed by additional therapies such as chemotherapy. 

While many patients in stage 1 may experience a cure of their cancer, at least 70 percent of people with advanced LGSOC experience recurrence.

Because LGSOC is rare, survival statistics are unclear, but based on available research, the five-year survival rate is between 30 and 50 percent. 

For Southam, she was initially told surgery might not remove all of her cancer. So, she chose go to a private hospital in London, where a surgeon performed a total hysterectomy, removal of the uterus and cervix. 

Doctors also removed her spleen and parts of her bowel, belly button and diaphragm, in what Southam called 'a very extreme operation.'

'The way it was described is that it spread far, like seeds had sprinkled everywhere,' she said. 'It was on the surface of a lot of the organs but the surgeon managed to get it all.'

Following surgery, Southam had grueling chemotherapy sessions until she was deemed to be in remission.

After her recovery, Southam dedicated herself to advocating to raise awareness of LGSOC, even teaming up with a charity to mark World Ovarian Cancer Day, during which she appeared on a billboard in Piccadilly Circus in London.

She said: 'It was weird seeing myself up there because you saw Jude Law and all these other famous celebrities and then I just came up.

'It was a big thing; it was confronting seeing yourself and the scar. It's empowering to know I'm helping others.'