Three digital GPs mistook 29-year-old’s ovarian most cancers for UTI

A woman who claimed her GP mistook symptoms of ovarian cancer for a urinary infection three times, has urged others to be aware of the tell-tale signs of the disease.

Emily-Jane Siviter, from Bangor in north Wales, initially contacted her family doctor last July after feeling sharp pains every time she urinated. 

But over the course of six months the 29-year-old was repeatedly prescribed antibiotics during online video appointments, despite the pain worsening. 

Then, in December she suddenly discovered a lump close to her right hip and noticed the area was slightly elevated. 

Tests later confirmed she had a 17cm tumour in her ovary pushing against her bladder and the former telecoms worker was diagnosed with stage three cancer.

Emily-Jane Siviter, from Bangor in north Wales, initially contacted her family doctor last July after feeling sharp pains every time she urinated. But over the course of six months the 29-year-old was repeatedly prescribed antibiotics during online video appointments, despite the pain worsening

In December she suddenly discovered a lump close to her right hip and noticed the area was slightly elevated

Tests later confirmed she had a 17cm tumour in her ovary pushing against her bladder and the former telecoms worker was diagnosed with stage three cancer. Pictured, the lump close to her right hip  

After undergoing gruelling surgery to remove the cancerous cells and part of her intestine, she has now been robbed of the chance to have her own biological children and will likely have to use a stoma bag for the rest of her life. 

Recalling her terrifying ordeal, she said: ‘I gave them all my symptoms and said, “I’ve already been diagnosed previously with the UTI, had the antibiotics and that hasn’t worked”. 

‘I think if they had done a blood test, it would have alerted them to do more tests and they would have figured it out sooner.

‘If a GP had seen my records, you would think they would have said “Oh Ok, she’s been on this three times, just come and get your blood taken so we can do a bit more research” rather than just saying it’s a UTI again.’

She added: ‘If you are not getting any help from the GP and you’ve got some kind of unfamiliar pain, just request a blood test because then they’ll get serious.’

Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the UK. 

The disease kills around 11 women every day in Britain, on average, or 4,000 a year.

It also kills three times as many women in the US every year, figures show.

Ovarian cancer is a rare form of the disease that develops in the ovaries, the female organs that produce eggs. It is often called a ‘silent killer’, as symptoms don’t present until late stages of the disease. 

After undergoing gruelling surgery to remove the cancerous cells and part of her intestine, Ms Siviter has now been robbed of the chance to have her own biological children and will likely have to use a stoma bag for the rest of her life. Pictured, with her partner Garin Hughes 

It is often diagnosed late because symptoms are vague and can include indigestion, pelvic or abdominal pain, loss of appetite, constipation, and needing to urinate more often.

Around 93 per cent of women diagnosed live five years or more if it’s spotted at the earliest stage, compared with just 13 per cent diagnosed at stage four.

Stage three means the cancer has spread outside the pelvis into the abdominal cavity or to lymph nodes. 

About a fifth of women with ovarian cancer are also diagnosed in A&E, often when it is too late for any treatment.

After the antibiotics Ms Siviter was prescribed in July failed to stem her sharp pains, she contacted a different online doctor service who gave her a second course of medication.

Ms Siviter opted to have a hysterectomy, a surgical procedure to remove the womb, and has also started chemotherapy

A third appointment in October with the same GP saw her offered a third prescription and she initially believed the antibiotics were working after the pain subsided. 

But after discovering the lump, an ultrasound at Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospital in Bangor on New Year’s Eve uncovered the cyst on her ovary. 

A CT scan also showed a 7cm cyst on her other ovary. 

She opted to have a hysterectomy, a surgical procedure to remove the womb, and has also started chemotherapy. 

‘Unfortunately they gave me a stoma because there was too much damage to my bowel,’ she said.

‘I don’t think it can be reversed because they took quite a large bit off.’

Ms Siviter, who lives with boyfriend Garin Hughes, 29, has since been forced to quit jobs at both a telecoms company and coffee house, due to poor health. 

A GoFundMe page, set up by her sisters Aimee and Lydia-Jane has raised more than £3,500 to help towards her recovery and everyday living costs. 

WHY OVARIAN CANCER IS CALLED A ‘SILENT KILLER’

About 80 percent of ovarian cancer cases are diagnosed in the advanced stages of the disease.

At the time of diagnosis, 60 percent of ovarian cancers will have already spread to other parts of the body, bringing the five-year survival rate down to 30 percent from 90 percent in the earliest stage.  

It’s diagnosed so late because of its location in the pelvis, according to Dr Ronny Drapkin, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, who’s been studying the disease for more than two decades.

‘The pelvis is like a bowl, so a tumor there can grow quite large before it actually becomes noticeable,’ Dr Drapkin told MailOnline.

The first symptoms to arise with ovarian cancer are gastrointestinal because tumors can start to press upward.

When a patient complains of gastrointestinal discomfort, doctors are more likely to focus on diet change and other causes than suggest an ovarian cancer screening.

Dr Drapkin said it’s usually not until after a patient endures persistent gastrointestinal symptoms that they will receive a screening that reveals the cancer.

‘Ovarian cancer is often said to be a silent killer because it doesn’t have early symptoms, when in fact it does have symptoms, they’re just very general and could be caused by other things,’ he said.

‘One of the things I tell women is that nobody knows your body as well as you do. If you feel something isn’t right, something’s probably not right.’

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She said: ‘Thank you for all the support that I’ve been given.

‘It’s going to really help me move forward and adjust to this new life.

‘I’ve applied for universal credit but it takes so long for them to verify your illness so I’ve just been getting the standard allowance.’

Responding to Ms Siviter’s tale, a Welsh Government spokesperson said: ‘GP practices in Wales are required to offer a blended model of access that includes a mix of face-to-face and remote consultations that are appropriate to patient need.

‘We expect practices to follow professional guidance issued by the General Medical Council and Royal College of General Practitioners on the use of remote consultations in general practice.’