My match and wholesome spouse died from ovarian most cancers at 46 – an train class on the health club revealed she was sick

A police officer whose ‘fit and healthy’ wife died from ovarian cancer aged just 46 is urging others to be aware of the subtle symptoms that can be easy to dismiss.

Matt Miles, 46, from Gloucestershire, lost his wife Katy in September 2024 after an eight-year battle with the disease.

The first sign that something was wrong seemed minor at the time.

During a regular CrossFit class in 2016, Katy suddenly lost bladder control, an issue many might put down to exercise or strain.

She visited her GP and was referred for a scan, which revealed an abnormality doctors initially believed to be an ovarian cyst.

Mr Miles said he remembers his wife being reassured at the time that ‘it’s not cancerous, don’t worry’.

But weeks later, on December 16, 2016, the couple were called back to hospital for the results of further tests.

‘I remember Katy had a yellow jumper on and blue jeans and we walked out into the corridor and went through a set of double doors,’ Mr Miles said.

‘As soon as we went through those, she literally grabbed hold of me and her legs just buckled.

‘Then she just burst into tears because she’d just been told that she had cancer.’

Although initially unclear if it was ovarian or bowel-related, it was later confirmed that Katy, who was 37 at the time, had low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma, a rare subtype that grows more slowly than more common forms of the disease.

She underwent a bowel resection in November 2016 to remove cancer cells and had a further operation in August 2017, which lasted eight hours due to ‘lesions found on the liver, kidney, bladder and stomach lining’.

‘The doctor referred to it as finding grains of sand and he was taking each one out,’ Mr Miles said.

Katy had a stoma bag fitted and a full hysterectomy, which Mr Miles described as a ‘hugely impactful operation’ that she ‘took in her stride’.

She then had a cycle of ‘brutal’ chemotherapy to try to eradicate any cancer cells that were left.

By March, Mr Miles said his wife was feeling better and started going back to the gym.

In May 2019, follow-up scans revealed two small tumours that doctors said were ‘not causing any problems’, but it became more about managing and prolonging her quality of life rather than curing the disease.

Over the next few years, as treatments developed, Katy was able to access different drugs over time, but eventually these stopped being effective and her options became more limited.

By May 2024, her cancer had spread to her bones and skin, and she was given an initial prognosis of around a year.

She was also experiencing problems with her kidneys, so she had a nephrostomy, where a catheter is inserted through the skin of the back into the kidney to drain urine into an external bag.

‘That was the most painful thing she had done,’ Mr Miles said. ‘That one really got to her.’

As her condition worsened, charity support was introduced to provide respite care when she became exhausted.

By the start of spring 2024, her quality of life had declined significantly.

Mr Miles remembered his wife telling him: ‘I can’t do it any more. It’s too much.’

She later made the decision not to undergo further procedures when complications arose with her treatment.

‘I can remember the doctor was crying and so was the nurse,’ he said. ‘Everyone was in hysterics.’

Mr Miles and Katy’s sister, Lucy, took turns to spend her final weeks with her before she died on September 24, 2024.

Now, Mr Miles is speaking out to raise awareness of the early warning signs of the disease, particularly those that can be easily dismissed.

In the aftermath of Katy’s death, Mr Miles said he wanted to do something for the ‘amazing’ charity that supported her.

From Katy’s birthday on August 9 2025, he began a series of fundraising challenges linked to her police collar number, 1481.

These included 1,481 burpees, a 14.81-mile row and a 14.81km run to and from the Sue Ryder hospice where Katy was cared for. He also completed the charity’s cold water ‘Big Dip’ challenge and walked sections of Spain’s Camino de Santiago.

Mr Miles has already surpassed his initial fundraising target of £10,481 and has since increased it to £14,810.

He will end his challenge with the London Marathon on April 26, which he said will be a ‘special day’.

‘I’ve got an embroidered patch of the 1481 that I’ll have on my Sue Ryder shirt and a little wooden cross that Katy had,’ he said.

‘When I have moments where I don’t want to keep going, those are the things that will drive me on.

‘Katy will always be at the forefront of my mind. She is the driving force behind it all.’