Miracle Marsh was diagnosed with stage 1C3 mucinous ovarian carcinoma in 2022 at the age of 27.

'As a young working mama, I never thought cancer would be part of my journey,” says the Bay of Plenty woman.

She had been experiencing increased urgency to urinate, pain in her lower abdomen and pelvis, fatigue, change in bowel habits, loss of appetite and breathlessness.

'I also had swelling of the abdomen to the point where I looked ready to give birth.”

After a negative pregnancy test, she was referred for a number of scans.

'My GP's first thought was not ovarian cancer but liver cirrhosis.

'These results were slow and I chased my GP for answers and phoned almost every day to talk about my symptoms and my mental/emotional state, which was deteriorating.”

Different photos of Mircavle's abdomen during her journey.

Eventually, Miracle learned she had a large mass and fluid in the abdomen that could be ovarian cancer.

She was referred to a gynaecologist who requested additional tests, but then incorrectly told Miracle that the results were negative.

'Being misdiagnosed was the most traumatic part of this journey as I was told by my gynaecologist that pathology came back with no findings from the first biopsy and I was cleared for cancer,” she says.

After learning that cancer cells had in fact been found, Miracle had a laparotomy that removed her right ovary and fallopian tube along with a biopsy of the omentum (a large flat adipose tissue layer nestling on the surface of the intra-peritoneal organs) and six litres of ascites fluid.

She finally received an official diagnosis of stage 1C3 mucinous ovarian carcinoma.

She had another surgery to remove her other ovary and fallopian tube, uterus and appendix, and is currently undergoing chemotherapy.

Though Miracle's cancer was diagnosed relatively early, there is still uncertainty.

Stage 1C3 means cancer cells were detected in fluid taken during surgery from her abdomen and pelvis.

'My surgeon told me that chemotherapy isn't always effective in my type of ovarian cancer. That's hard to hear. Will I get to see my tamariki grow up? I really hope so.

'I believe and know I should have been diagnosed a lot sooner, and I know I'm not the only one this has happened to.

'My hope is to bring awareness to my whanau and your whanau by sharing this journey.

'Many voices create an impact and all wahine deserve a fighting chance. We need to make ovarian cancer diagnosis easier.”

Miracle undergoing treatment for her cancer.

Miracle is sharing her story as part of NZ charity Cure Our Ovarian Cancer's global campaign to raise awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms in younger women.

In New Zealand, one in eight women are diagnosed under the age of 45. In women aged 20-44 years it remains the 5th most common cause of cancer death.

Cure Our Ovarian Cancer founder Jane Ludemann says the survival of most types of ovarian cancer is poor unless it's found at stage 1 (when the cancer is contained within the ovaries).

She says that's an incredibly narrow window for early detection.

Within New Zealand, Cure Our Ovarian Cancer focuses on improving outcomes for wahine with ovarian cancer through education, advocacy and support, and research.

The charity also raises funds overseas for international research partners.

Their international efforts focus on a rare, under-researched type of ovarian cancer which affects younger women called low-grade serous. Which is why their World Ovarian Cancer Day Campaign this year is focusing on ovarian cancer in young women.

The charity has been donated billboard space in New Zealand with support of Go Media, and overseas in New York, the United Kingdom and Canada as part of their campaign.

'The campaign is about catching cancer early, particularly in young women. If we can help one woman to think about a symptom she's been shrugging off and encourage a diagnosis, we'll have done our job. We hope women will share this with their sisters, mothers, and friends to hopefully avoid the pain I've gone through.”