SWINDON CANCER APPEAL: THE Evening Advertiser is trying to raise £600,000 for Macmillan Cancer Relief to improve the lives of people with cancer in Swindon. Anyone whose life has been touched by the condition is aware of the work of Macmillan and this money will go to pay for two Macmillan nurses and a cancer care consultant over a three year period.

So today, as the appeal reaches £133,054, we tell the story of teacher Mary Topping who has been forced to quit her job because of ovarian cancer. She is being cared for by Macmillan nurses. TAMASH LAL reports.

PARENTS, pupils and colleagues gathered to celebrate the career of a Swindon teacher who was forced to leave the profession she loved because of cancer.

Mary Topping had been head of the Chalet School for children with special needs for 19 years when she was diagnosed as having ovarian cancer last year.

Her skills with children were celebrated when around 200 people gathered for a retirement party in Lydiard Park.

And Mary was given a special treat a flight in a hot air balloon.

During her time in Swindon, Mary spearheaded plans to move the school from temporary buildings near the ambulance station off Queen's Drive to a new site in Liden.

Unfortunately, after all her hard work, Mary was unable to oversee the opening of the new school on the site of the former Liden Infants School because of her illness.

Her life was turned upside down when she was diagnosed as having ovarian cancer in May 2002.

The 53-year-old was forced to give up teaching, and within weeks she was undergoing surgery and starting chemotherapy.

She said: "I greeted the news with sad disbelief.

"Suddenly I was dealing with something over which I had no control.

"I couldn't believe it, I had hardly ever needed to see a doctor in my whole life. I used to cycle every day, and ate organic food, but sadly here I am.

"It makes you realise that life is too short."

Mary, who is married to Martin, 54, and lives in Lyddon Way, Greenmeadow, knew something was wrong when she noticed her stomach was bloated.

Although it was not painful, Mary, who has two children, Danny, 26, and Sally, 29, who lives in Germany, made an appointment with her GP.

An ultra sound test at the now defunct Princess Margaret Hospital revealed the presence of ascites fluid in Mary's abdomen a sign of a tumour.

Mary and her family clung to the hope that the tumour would be benign.

But when doctors operated, they discovered that a cancerous tumour had spread from her ovaries to her bowel and abdomen. It was too large to remove.

Despite two courses of chemotherapy, the tumour continued to grow, and there is now little that can be done to prevent it spreading further.

Mary now enjoys spending as much time as she can with her family.

She regularly visits her daughter Sally in Munich.

Last year, Sally provided Mary with her first granddaughter, Annabel, now one, who is a source of great joy for her.

Mary is being cared for by Macmillan nurses, and she backed the Swindon Cancer Appeal, which aims to raise £600,000 for the charity.

She said: "They have been wonderful.

"They do so much already, but with the extra resources provided by the appeal they will be able to do even more."

WHAT IS OVARIAN CANCER

It kills more women than all other gynaecological cancers combined.

It is known as the silent killer because of few early symptoms. Signs include swelling of the stomach and digestive problems.

In 2000, just over 4,400 women died of the disease.

There are four different types of ovarian cancer, which are named after the part of the ovary which is affected.

It can be treated by surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

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