Kate Wightman, a 29-year-old elite road cyclist from Muriwai, wants to raise awareness of gynaecological cancers after a triple diagnosis.
Kate Wightman, a 29-year-old elite road cyclist from Muriwai, wants to raise awareness of gynaecological cancers after a triple diagnosis.
WhenKate Wightman began experiencing sharp abdominal pains and bleeding between periods in 2019, she says she was repeatedly told by doctors she was too young to worry about the symptoms and it was “probably just endometriosis”.
But by late 2022, the 29-year-old elite road cyclist from Muriwaihad been diagnosed with three different gynaecological cancers.
“It was absolutely the worst day of my life,” she tells the Herald. “I had my partner and my mum in the room with me and I think it came as a complete shock to all three of us.”
In New Zealand, ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynaecological cancer — one Kiwi woman dies of the disease every 48 hours.
Wightman was diagnosed with two types of ovarian cancer: stage 2b endometrioid carcinoma in her right ovary and a stage 3a seromucinous borderline tumour in her left ovary that had spread to her bowel and diaphragm. She also had stage 1 endometrial cancer in her uterus.
It was only thanks to an MRI for a cycling-related hip injury that the 6cm tumour on her right ovary was found — and it wasn’t until she was faced with the reality of cancer that she even realised they existed.
“I was having cervical smear tests every year, but honestly had no idea that there were four other [gynaecological] cancers, and I was just completely shocked,” she recalls.
Kate Wightman underwent surgery to remove her ovaries, uterus, and parts of her diaphragm and bowel.
Over the following months, Wightman underwent three surgeries to remove her uterus, ovaries and parts of her diaphragm and bowel, putting her into surgical menopause, followed by chemotherapy. That meant she didn’t just have to come to terms with a potentially life-threatening diagnosis, but with the reality she wouldn’t be able to have children.
“It’s just everything that comes with that, being super-young — you lose the chance to become a mother and you become menopausal. So it’s not just like, ‘oh, you have cancer, you might not survive’ — it’s like, holy moly, this is going to impact my whole life, whether or not I do live,” she points out.
Wightman also had to come to terms with the fact her body was no longer as capable as it once was, something that felt “strange” for the athlete.
“I’m so used to being super-fit and that being a mental release, and a moment in the day where I can go and just be with my own thoughts. And I think that it was quite a mentally difficult thing to not be able to exercise as much as I wanted.
“It was probably a bit of an identity shift for me as well, because I always wrapped my identity up in being an athlete and being really healthy and fit. And suddenly I was this very incapacitated person that could just lie in bed, and at most walk around the house.”
Kate Wightman is an elite road cyclist who has competed overseas as well as in New Zealand.
‘We’ve got to drive a change’
Now in remission, Wightman wanted to do something to raise awareness of these cancers — and it just made sense to combine her passion for exercise with helping to make a difference.
“There’s very limited research into the female cancers, and I thought, something has to happen — we’ve got to drive a change here,” she says.
So she decided to set out to walk the length of New Zealand on the Te Araroa trail to raise awareness and funds for two charities — Talk Peach, which provides resources and subsidies for cancer sufferers, and the Graci Foundation, which conducts research into how to improve outcomes for gynaecological cancer patients.
She’s been training since the beginning of the year and says it’s given her “something to focus on beyond the chemo room or the surgeries”.
At first, her partner, family and friends weren’t so sure about what she was undertaking.
“It was a bit of like, ‘oh my goodness, are you sure this is a good idea?’ But now everyone is so behind it and so excited, it’s so cool,” Wightman enthuses.
“I have an amazing network of family and friends and supporters and they’re all wanting to walk parts of it with me and drop off supplies. I think it’s just really inspired people to get out there and train themselves and get active. They’re like, ‘Oh, if you can do it, I’ll do it too’.”
Kate Wightman will set out to walk the length of New Zealand on the Te Araroa trail on September 30.
Wightman will set out on her 3000km journey from Cape Reinga on September 30, aiming to get to Bluff within four months. She hopes to reach Travers Sabine Circuit in Nelson Lakes National Park in time for her 30th birthday.
It’s a milestone she wasn’t sure she’d reach — and for Wightman, the walk isn’t just a chance to raise funds and awareness, but to reflect on her life-changing ordeal over the past year.
“I think it’s really easy to move on very quickly and settle back into normal life, but not take the time to process it. So it’s probably going to be a bit of a mental journey as well,” she notes.
‘A real wake-up call’
Since her diagnosis, Wightman has undergone a “massive perspective shift”.
“It’s super-cliché, but I don’t take anything for granted any more, especially my health. I think as an athlete I just thought I was a bit invincible and I could do anything. And then suddenly it’s like, ‘Oh no, anybody could go through this’. And that’s a real wake-up call.
“You just start to appreciate every little thing and every little moment. I probably used to rush through life trying to be productive, but now I just take a bit more time to like, sit down for a cup of tea and, you know, have a proper chat with my parents — just really take time to do things that are important.”
Her message to other Kiwi women wondering if they have cancer symptoms is to advocate for themselves.
“I think there’s not enough research and testing to be able to accurately diagnose these [cancers] at a really early stage. So it’s important that women just know the symptoms and they really advocate to healthcare professionals, because women know their bodies best and they’ll know the changes.
“If they can be talking to each other and we can talk to friends, then we can start to identify the changes — so just talking and advocating are the most important things.”
Symptoms may include: An increase in tummy size or bloating, abdominal, pelvic or back pain, increased or more urgent urination, bowel habit changes, eating less and feeling more full, fatigue, indigestion, painful intercourse, abnormal bleeding from the vagina, unexplained weight change.
Although these symptoms are usually caused by conditions other than cancer, if any last for two weeks or longer (particularly if the symptoms are new, unusual or getting worse), get them checked as soon as possible.
Risk factors include: Being older, never being pregnant or having a first child after age 35, starting a period before 12, menopause after 55, use of hormone therapy after menopause, obesity, family history of ovarian cancer or personal history of breast cancer.
Having one or more risk factors does not mean you will develop ovarian cancer. Even those with no risk factors can develop ovarian cancer.
