Edinburgh medical student diagnosed with ovarian cancer now partners with Medics’ Reveal

Elena was diagnosed with ovarian germ cell cancer at just the age of 17. She was in her first year of studying medicine at The University of Edinburgh. The condition is extremely rare and typically affects young people up to their 30s, according to Cancer Research UK. 

Now 22 and in her third year of study, Elena has no evidence of still having the disease. She is using her experience to connect with teens in similar circumstances.

Elena works with Teenage Cancer Trust, or TCT, which aims to help young people through cancer treatment. She  also contributes to the famous fundraising event Medics’ Reveal; a “variety dance and strip show produced, choreographed and performed by medical and nursing students from the University of Edinburgh.” The event has garnered increasing success over the past 10 years, with the performance last year managing to raise £38,000 for the TCT, selling 1200 tickets.

This years show is to take place at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on the 1st of March.

Medics’ Reveal performance

Elena spoke of her own experience with TCT whilst undergoing treatment for cancer, and said that whilst being at Edinburgh’s Western General hospital, Teenage Cancer Trust managed to make the “hospital experience more comfortable.” Providing her with resources such as a support nurse and access to a common room with games, Elena stressed, “I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the support from TCT.”

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She elaborated on the isolating aspects of undergoing cancer treatment as a teenager. Due to the rareness of her condition, Elena was placed at a hospital in London alongside women who were significantly older than her. She said: “I was suddenly in bay with older women I felt I had nothing to do with. We were at very different stages of life to be going through cancer. It was really isolating.”

Thanks to TCT, Elena was also given access to a private room and kitchen where her Dad could cook for her. These elements of support allowed her to make friends with people she could actually relate to:

Elena expanded on how TCT made her treatment less alienating: