A Wiltshire schoolteacher has praised the roll-out of new cancer drug niraparib.

Anne Ainsworth, who lives in Box near Corsham, had her life changed after a shock ovarian cancer diagnosis in 2014.

Apart from a small amount of bleeding, Anne had not noticed anything out of the ordinary.

She said: “I had a little bit of bleeding and went to the doctors, who sent me straight for a scan. I was lucky they caught it when they did.

“However, it was still a huge shock and horrible for the family.

"In cancer terms, 2014 was a long time ago and I feel very fortunate to be here. I was diagnosed at stage 3C which is quite an advanced stage. The stats back then were terrible, there was around a 30% chance of still being alive after five years.

“I think some symptoms of ovarian cancer get ignored, so 3C is sadly a common stage for people to be diagnosed."

Anne's cancer sadly returned in 2018 and she continued on chemotherapy.

However, in December 2018 she was then able to benefit from niraparib (Zejula®) a drug which has just been made available to thousands of newly diagnosed women with ovarian cancer.

It works by stopping cancer cells from repairing themselves, and therefore fends off the return of cancer.

It will be available for women with stage III and IV ovarian cancer from their first round of treatment – meaning around 3,000 people will have access to it every year at a stage when it has the most potential to work.

The drug has helped Anne, who has worked at St Laurence School in Bradford On Avon for 15 years, return to a sense of normality in life.

Anne said: “It's a gamechanger. It's meant that I can live a completely normal life again. Rather than hospital trips, I take tablets and can continue and work like before."

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Annwen Jones OBE, Annwen Jones OBE,

Annwen Jones OBE, Chief Executive of Target Ovarian Cancer, said: “The announcement is a major milestone in the fight against ovarian cancer, bringing hope during a pandemic where we have serious concerns about how many women are being diagnosed late.

“It’s the first time thousands of women will benefit from this innovative drug from the very beginning of treatment. We haven’t had such a breakthrough drug available to so many since the introduction of chemotherapy drug paclitaxel – Taxol - in the 1990s.”

Target Ovarian Cancer and thousands of dedicated supporters campaigned for the breakthrough. To find out more visit targetovariancancer.org.uk

Anne, and the charity, also urge people to be aware of the symptoms of ovarian cancer.

Anne said: "Don’t ignore the symptoms or think you’ll waste your doctor's time. Go and get it checked out, and if you feel there's something really wrong then persist and keep going.

"And if anyone is newly diagnosed then I would recommend the Target Ovarian Cancer website as there are some amazing recourses and groups that can support you."

What are the symptoms of ovarian cancer?

• Persistent bloating - not bloating that comes and goes

• Feeling full quickly and/or loss of appetite

• Pelvic or abdominal pain (that's your tummy and below)

• Urinary symptoms (needing to wee more urgently or more often than usual)

Occasionally there can be other symptoms:

• Changes in bowel habit (eg diarrhoea or constipation)

• Extreme fatigue (feeling very tired)

• Unexplained weight loss

Any bleeding after the menopause should always be investigated by a GP.

Symptoms will be:

• Frequent – they usually happen more than 12 times a month

• Persistent – they don’t go away

• New – they are not normal for you