Doctors dismissed Mikayla’s strange symptoms for months. Then she found out she had stage 4 ovarian cancer at just 29… and it had been growing silently inside her for years

When Mikayla Hancock began experiencing constipation every couple of months, she never imagined it was the first sign of stage 4 ovarian cancer. 

At just 29, the Melbourne office worker had no family history of cancer, and her symptoms seemed minor and sporadic. 

Doctors now believe the aggressive tumour had been growing for between one and four years before it was finally found. By then, it was 23cm, had spread to her lungs, and was crushing her bladder. 

Looking back, Mikayla can now link her diagnosis to a series of seemingly unrelated symptoms that kept sending her back to the GP – only to be reassured it was simply a lack of fibre, a food intolerance, a strained muscle, or later, ‘just Covid’. 

‘I look back on it now and know it’s something my body was obviously trying to tell me,’ Mikayla told the Daily Mail.

Her first symptom appeared in August 2025. Every few months, she would become constipated for a day or two, then return to normal. 

Initially, she was told to eat more fibre and drink more water. When things didn’t improve, doctors suggested a food intolerance, so she started a food diary. 

Then another symptom emerged: after using the toilet, she would feel a sudden, stabbing pain deep in her pelvis. 

‘It wasn’t like a UTI when you’re actually urinating. It would happen after I’d finished. I’d get a split second of pain in my pelvis and then it would disappear.’

She returned to the GP. A urine sample was taken and antibiotics prescribed while she waited for results, but tests were negative. Instead, doctors suggested she had strained a pelvic muscle. 

Friends remarked it was unusual that she kept returning with new pains, but Mikayla tried to accept the explanations. 

‘I thought it made sense, I suppose.’

In early March, she and her partner flew to Fiji to celebrate their tenth anniversary. 

By the pool, another symptom became obvious: she needed to urinate much more frequently than usual, a change she realised had actually begun weeks earlier, in January. 

She also found she felt full after just a few mouthfuls, and suffered acid reflux – symptoms later linked to ovarian cancer. 

Four days into the holiday, she developed a sore throat, then severe back pain down her spine. On returning home, a test confirmed she had Covid. 

Over the next fortnight, she developed persistent diarrhoea, cramping, nausea and an unsettled stomach. Despite repeatedly contacting her GP, she was told it was simply part of recovering from the virus. 

By the second week, she could barely eat and was running to the bathroom up to 13 times a day, until eventually only mucus remained. 

‘My abdomen was so hard and swollen and it felt like it was full of trapped gas. No amount of medicine or going to the bathroom helped the pain, the only thing that offered me a bit of relief was walking around my house,’ she said.

Even then, she resisted going to hospital until her mother insisted.

At emergency, everything changed within minutes. Nurses found her heart rate was 175 beats per minute after she mentioned having diarrhoea for nearly two weeks. 

Mikayla initially assumed anxiety was responsible. The emergency doctor disagreed.

‘She said it was more than that and they wanted to find out what was going on.’

Within hours, she was on monitors, having intravenous fluids, blood tests and assessments for everything from tropical diseases to appendicitis. Still, there was no explanation for her severe illness. 

A CT scan was ordered. Two hours later, an emergency doctor closed the curtain around her bed – there was a large mass in her abdomen. 

‘I thought they were going to tell me I had appendicitis or gallstones,’ Mikayla said. 

‘Nothing was clicking in my head.’

Later that evening, a gynaecologist delivered the life-changing diagnosis: ovarian cancer. A further scan showed spots on her lungs. 

‘I was just so shocked. I wasn’t expecting any of that at all when I went to the emergency department with stomach symptoms.’

Doctors explained the tumour measured 23cm and was compressing her bladder, causing her urinary symptoms. 

Her tumour markers – blood tests used to detect ovarian cancer – had remained normal, making the diagnosis even harder. 

Because the cancer was so aggressive, chemotherapy began almost immediately. Mikayla was too ill to leave hospital. 

Within days, she had seen an oncologist, undergone a biopsy, completed a PET scan, and started treatment. 

Then another setback: while chemotherapy initially shrank the tumour from 23cm to around 10cm, Mikayla developed a bowel obstruction, E. coli, C. difficile, and septic shock. 

She was rushed to intensive care and spent four days fighting for her life. Doctors later told her that if she had delayed going to hospital any longer, she might not have survived. 

‘When I was admitted they gave me three different types of painkillers and nobody knew how I’d been managing it at home on Panadol,’ she said. 

After five and a half weeks, Mikayla was well enough to return home and continue chemotherapy as an outpatient. She has now completed treatment and is preparing for surgery to remove the remaining tumour. 

Doctors say only small cancer particles remain, giving her hope for recovery despite her stage 4 diagnosis. 

Emotionally, however, recovery has been far harder. 

‘I’m not sad I have cancer. I’m sad I have to go through this experience.

‘I know I can’t change this, and I’m just lucky I’m fortunate enough that my cancer is curable and treatable. There are always other people who are worse off.

‘Shaving my head has been one of the hardest parts. It erased part of my identity. People think washing their hair is such a chore, but you take it for granted until you can’t do it anymore.’

Mikayla is now rebuilding her strength through physiotherapy, though even tasks like cooking a meal are exhausting. 

Throughout everything, Mikayla has never been alone. Her partner, parents, friends and even her friends’ parents have joined her at appointments, while hobbies such as knitting and crosswords have helped her cope. 

‘I have really great friends. Every time I have an appointment, someone is always with me.’

Now, Mikayla hopes sharing her story will encourage other women to listen to their bodies and keep asking questions. 

‘Ovarian cancer is such a silent killer,’ she said. 

‘By the time you find out you have ovarian cancer, it’s often already advanced because either you don’t have symptoms or the symptoms get dismissed as something else.

‘You always think it won’t happen to you or that you’re too young. You need to advocate for yourself and push for further investigation if you’re not satisfied with the answers you’re given. Early detection saves lives.’