Netball: Manchester Thunder’s Sophie Fawns reflects on her mum’s cancer and moving to the UK

Reflecting on that 18th birthday in November 2021, Sophie suspects Maureen realised the end was close.

“She was kind of like, ‘I really want to keep doing this, but I just feel really fatigued’.

“I think a lot of people didn’t know she was ill. It was something that was super sudden for a lot of people. I remember her funeral, there wasn’t enough seats.”

Sophie moved to Sydney in 2022, balancing neuroscience studies at university with life as a Swifts first-teamer.

Maureen was never far from her thoughts, nor was the killer disease that took her.

Only one in three women live for more than 10 years with ovarian cancer, according to UK charity Ovarian Cancer Action, which highlights primary symptoms, external as: persistent bloating, difficulty eating or feeling more full than usual, a need to urinate more frequently or urgently, and pain around the stomach to the top of the thighs.

The NHS says the cancer mostly affects women over the age of 50 but can affect anyone with ovaries. Crucially, an early diagnosis can make it more treatable.

“I think the education around it is getting better and we’re really privileged that [in netball] we’ve had female doctors come in and speak to us about it,” Sophie says.

“We’re at the top of our sport and we’re only just being able to get this education. It needs to start from grassroots and from that younger age.”

She wants to help others recognise first signs, advocating for early detection tests.

“The more you talk about it, the less taboo it becomes and the more it sparks that conversation,” she says.