A Piccadilly Circus billboard is being taken over to raise awareness of ovarian cancer - this is why it matters

More than 30 women with a rare form of ovarian cancer will feature on billboards in London, New York and across the UK, Kate Ng finds out what they want people to know

The main billboard in Piccadilly Circus will feature a campaign raising awareness for World Ovarian Cancer Day, by global research charity Cure Our Ovarian Cancer (Cure Our Ovarian Cancer)

This weekend the instantly recognisable giant billboard in Piccadilly Circus (measuring over 700 square metres) will be dedicated to raising awareness around ovarian cancer for World Ovarian Cancer Day.

More than 30 women diagnosed with a variant of ovarian cancer called low-grade serous (LGS) have joined forces to draw attention to the disease, which is the sixth most common cause of female cancer in the UK.

The advert will also appear in New York’s Time Square, as well as on more than 350 billboard sites across the UK. It will feature women from the UK, the US, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Organised by global research charity Cure Our Ovarian Cancer, the campaign hopes to educate people about the subtle ways the disease manifests in women and the lack of funding that goes into researching treatments. The billboards will show the faces of various women with LGS cancer, with the tagline: “An ad you can’t miss, for a cancer you do”.

According to Professor Charlie Gourley, clinical director of Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Edinburgh Centre, LGS is a rarer form of ovarian cancer that tends to affect younger women. On average, it affects women in their early 40s, but many of his patients with this cancer are in their 20s.

An ad you can’t miss, for a cancer you do

Prof Gourley, who heads the University of Edinburgh’s Nicola Murray Centre for Ovarian Cancer Research, told The Independent that ovarian cancer is easy to miss because it arises in the large space in the abdomen and pelvis.

“Although it’s known as ovarian cancer, it often arises in the fallopian tubes rather than the ovaries. That open structure is like a flower and in the early stages the cells can escape across the abdominal cavity.

“The problem with that is the cancer cells do that before the patient is aware of the cancer and by the time significant symptoms materialise, it’s already spread.”

The symptoms for ovarian cancer can easily be dismissed or mistaken for other, less serious issues. They include tummy or back pain, bloating, frequent or urgent urination, pain during intercourse, fatigue and menstrual irregularities.

For Kate Wilkinson, the campaign’s UK organiser, it began with sharp pains in her tummy at the age of 21, while she was in university.

She was initially diagnosed with borderline tumours, which are usually not cancerous and can be removed surgically. Ms Wilkinson had them removed, but 17 years later in 2020, she experienced the stomach pains again.

“I thought it didn’t feel right so I went to my GP, who carried out a specific type of blood test known as CA125 and an ultrasound scan, which revealed the tumour had returned,” she told The Independent.

Ms Wilkinson did not know the tumour was cancerous until she underwent another operation and it was discovered that she had LGS ovarian cancer.

“I went on chemo and finished just before Christmas and have been given the all-clear in January. I continue to be all clear, but unfortunately the variant we’ve got has quite high chances of recurrence, so there is every chance it may come back in the future.

“One of the reasons we want to raise awareness and get more funding for research is because it’s absolutely feasible that in our lifetimes we could find a cure for this variant,” she added.

It’s absolutely feasible that in our lifetimes we could find a cure for this variant

Prof Charlie explained that the lack of funding for LGS ovarian cancer was due to it only being recognised as a completely different disease than the most common type of ovarian cancer, which is known as high-grade serous - in the last 15 years or do.

“The most important thing to say is that LGS is a rare cancer that sometimes affects very young women and we don’t have adequate treatment at this point,” he said.

“What we’re trying to do as an international community is work together on new science in labs and new clinical trials to get treatment for these women.”

Both Prof Charlie and Ms Wilkinson stressed the importance of women being aware about what’s going on with their bodies and taking note of anything that feels wrong.

“If you notice tummy swelling or pain in the pelvis or pain during intercourse, you must go to your doctor,” urged Prof Charlie. “It is understandable for GPs not to pick it up straight away but if the symptoms don’t go away, it is very important for patient to go back and get checked.”

Ms Wilkinson adds: “It’s important for women to know their body, to know when things are not quite right. If you’ve been tired for a few weeks or had a tummy ache for longer than normal, it’s so important to understand your body and go to the doctors.

“When I was at university, I did experience being dismissed and the doctors passed it off as period pain, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or a urinary tract infection (UTI).

“So when I went to the doctor last year, I had that history already and I knew what I needed and wanted. It came from a level of education which ultimately saved my situation, but many women don’t have that knowledge and that’s why it’s so important to raise awareness about it.”