Narelle Lawrence had all the signs of a kidney infection.
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The 45-year-old Wodonga resident had experienced them before so she "kind of knew" what the pain felt like.
But when over-the-counter medication from the chemist didn't make any difference to her symptoms, she was told to present to emergency after she couldn't get in to see her doctor.
In the course of that evening at Wodonga Hospital, it "quickly became very obvious" Narelle did not have a kidney infection.
Instead, in August 2018, the primary school teacher would learn she was in the advanced stages of ovarian cancer.
Tests had uncovered a tumour near one of her kidneys, and that's what had been causing the pain.
It was her only symptom of Australia's deadliest female cancer, which claims the life of one woman every eight hours.
Looking back, Narelle suspected it could be cancer after initial tests in emergency ruled out a kidney infection.
"I'm far too familiar with ovarian cancer," she explains in a new campaign to mark Ovarian Cancer Awareness month from February 1.
"My mum has had ovarian cancer twice, and my older sister ..."
Narelle herself knew she also carried the hereditary BRCA1 gene.
Still, she admits, it was a shock to learn of her diagnosis.
"Everything changed from there," she says.
Narelle endured an initial three rounds of chemo, a ghastly named "debulking" surgery, followed by another three rounds of chemo and a year on a PARP inhibitor drug - only to learn her cancer was "chemo resistant" and she was considered terminal.
The first surgery - which involved a radical hysterectomy - robbed her of her dreams of having children.
But Narelle and her oncologist refused to let this be the end of her life.
Albury-based oncologist Christopher Steer consulted with a team of specialists in Melbourne, pushing for another surgery.
Miraculously they found a surgeon specialising in bowel transplants who agreed to operate with an ovarian specialist watching on.
That surgery and the follow-up radiation resulted in a full recovery for Narelle, who has even been able to return to teaching part-time.
She's recently moved to six-monthly testing and is hopeful that will stretch out to yearly in the near future.
"I'm taking it a day at a time," she reflects.
"I'm definitely a roll-with-the-punches type of girl nowadays ..."
Narelle is now keen to help raise awareness and "much needed funds" for Ovarian Cancer Australia through an initiative with fashion retailer Black Pepper.
She has joined four ovarian cancer survivors as the faces of the campaign to warn other women not to dismiss early symptoms of the deadly disease, which are often vague and easily misdiagnosed.
The partnership, now in its ninth year, aims to raise $100,000 to support women with ovarian cancer.
"I know myself how much I got out of that point of contact with the nurses - it made a huge difference to me," Narelle says.
Ovarian Cancer Australia's Bridget Bradhurst says by elevating the voices of women impacted by ovarian cancer, the hope is "we can change the landscape of this disease".
"Being a lower-incidence cancer that often presents with vague symptoms, those presenting to their GPs are often not considering their symptoms may be attributed to ovarian cancer," she explains.
"For all those diagnosed in the future, we want to improve their experiences and outcomes by providing ongoing access to specialist support services.
"Additionally, we aim to continue our advocacy efforts to see increased research funding and greater access to effective and affordable treatments."
Meanwhile Narelle says she's now focusing on finding more time to do the things she enjoys and feels inspired by, like her passion for art and craft.
"I try not to get caught up in the little stuff, although it can be difficult because you still have to live and pay the bills," she concedes.
She believes not enough focus is given to the adjustment needed to cope with a cancer journey.
"Even when you are given the all-clear, you're expected to just get on with life and that everything is back to normal ... but that's far from the reality," Narelle says.
And, she says, it's important people remember that regardless of the outlook or circumstances of a cancer diagnosis, there's still a person under the disease label.
"Sometimes who you were before the diagnosis gets waylaid," she says.
"You wear this new identity and you aren't seen as you - that's part of why this awareness campaign is so incredibly important.
"To present the human face of a cancer journey."
- The campaign will include two specially designed scarves, a blouse and top for Black Pepper (modelled by the four survivors), with a portion of sales going to Ovarian Cancer Australia.
