Woman Credits IUD for Prompt Detection of Advanced Ovarian Cancer

Caroline Bailey, a 54-year-old from Trelogan, Flintshire, experienced stabbing abdominal pain in March and blamed her contraceptive coil, repeatedly requesting its removal. When appointments were unavailable, she eventually received a CA125 blood test that returned 72 U/ml, triggering a two-week diagnostic pathway. Imaging uncovered a 13 cm tumor pressing against the coil, and a biopsy confirmed stage-three ovarian cancer with omental spread.

She underwent four rounds of chemotherapy at The Christie in Manchester, which reduced the tumor to 8 cm, followed by a total hysterectomy, omentum and appendix removal on October 26. Post-surgery scans show no disease, and she is now undergoing additional chemotherapy and evaluating a double mastectomy as part of a trial, while her family is being genetically screened.