Women’s Health Week: How Linda Brinckman discovered she had ovarian cancer

Linda Brinckman blamed her symptoms on turning 50, but a heart attack led doctors to discover something far more serious during emergency surgery.

Doctor Allison Black medical oncologist at the Royal Hobart Hospital with patient Linda Brinckman who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer after also surviving a heart attack. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

It was a week of successive health shocks that would alter the course of Linda Brinckman’s life.

The 50-year-old West Hobart woman was experiencing indigestion-like symptoms and a sore jaw when she booked a telehealth appointment with her GP last August.

She later attended the clinic to undergo blood tests, blood pressure checks and an ECG scan, with a phone call from her doctor later that night confirming the symptoms she was experiencing were those of a heart attack.

She immediately went to the hospital where a blood clot in her heart was removed.

A day from getting discharged, an unrelated rupture led her to the operating table.

It was the results of her pathology examination that delivered the second shock: she had ovarian cancer.

“It was quite a harrowing night,” Ms Brinckman said about her emergency surgery.

“I ended up calling my husband just in case I didn’t make it through.”

Ms Brinckman, who was prescribed blood thinners in the aftermath of the heart attack, was bleeding from a tumour in her abdomen.

Her doctor, Royal Hobart Hospital medical oncologist Allison Black, said it was this that led to the early detection of her cancer.

“It’s an unusual case where we probably wouldn’t have found the ovarian cancer unless she’d had a heart attack and been on blood thinners,” Dr Black said.

Doctor Allison Black with patient Linda Brinckman. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Heart attack symptoms can be subtle and vary for men and women.

According to Healthdirect, women are less likely to have chest pain, and may experience pain in the back of the neck, jaw, or both arms, fatigue, or shortness of breath or nausea.

This Women’s Health Week, Dr Black said Ms Brinckman’s story was emblematic of the importance for women to advocate for their health.

Almost a year on from her diagnosis, Ms Brinckman has completed six rounds of chemotherapy, and has undergone a full hysterectomy.

Reflecting on her health before the heart attack, she said there were some strange, albeit, vague signs.

“In the lead up to this happening I knew something wasn’t right, but it was very non-specific,” she said.

“I blamed all the different things in my life – coming up to 50, getting older. I expected to not be feeling as vibrant as I used to.

“I suppose if I did more regular exercise, to drink more water, ate better, maybe all that would go away.

“It’s a matter of really trusting that something’s not right. That we’re not meant to feel like this.”

This week is Women’s Health Week. Picture: generic/istock

Women’s Health Week also takes place amid Gynaecological Cancer Awareness Month.

Dr Black said Ms Brinckman’s experience also living with endometriosis and fibroids highlighted how difficult it could be for women to get an ovarian cancer diagnosis.

The symptoms – which include abdominal bloating, pain, frequent urination, changes in bowel habits, unexplained weight loss or weight gain – were not always obvious, she said, but were important to investigate if experienced persistently.

“Women are trained from when they’re quite young to put things down to menstrual cycle,” she said.

“We don’t want to over-investigate and alarm people unnecessarily.

“But if something is not right, if it’s persistent, if it’s getting worse, you just need to keep going back (to the doctor) and asking the question.”

Ms Brinckman added: “you know your body best.”

“I’d spent 20 years with endometriosis, and (I thought) that’s just the way it is.

“From a very young age we’re used to managing and handling pain.”

Now in remission, Ms Brinckman is looking forward to stepping into a new chapter of life – putting a difficult year behind her, and expressing gratitude for both the doctors that cared for her, and the “little things” in life.

“I was presented with (the fact) that this might be the last bit of life, and I remember thinking about everything I was leaving behind,” she said.

“It wasn’t a big bucket list or travel, it was very little things.

“It was knowing that my daughter was making Two Minute Noodles on a Sunday night while I’m lying there thinking, ‘wow’. ‘What an amazing moment.’”