Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer in British women, accounting for 4% of all cancer diagnoses in the UK.

But despite this fact, a surprisingly low number of us (we’re putting our hands up here, too) can name the full list of ovarian cancer symptoms, or recognise how to spot it early on – both of which are essential to improving chances of survival.

Cancer is a subject that when out of sight, is out of mind, leaving many of us to presume that this type of cancer only effects women in later in life. But devastatingly, this is far from true.

We spoke to six women who all battled ovarian cancer in their 20s, about how important vigilance and awareness are for women of any age, to help them recognize the symptoms of this illness.

Each of these women admits that they didn’t think they were old enough to be affected, and didn’t know all the symptoms until they were. Here, they give us a glimpse into their experiences.

6 women in their 20s who survived ovarian cancer tell us about their experiences