A mother who spent months feeling unwell was horrified to discover she probably had cancer - after spotting all her symptoms on a Facebook post.

Laura Everley, 36, had experienced bloating, lower back pain and constipation over a three-month period. She also frequently needed to urinate.

But having previously suffered irritable bowel syndrome and endometriosis, she put the symptoms down to those conditions.

It was only when she stumbled across a post on her Facebook timeline, which detailed all the same symptoms, that she realised it could be cancer.

Tests later revealed she had an aggressive ovarian tumour - and the disease had begun to spread.

After performing a hysterectomy to remove her womb as well as her ovaries, surgeons revealed the cancer had already begun to spread.

Mrs Everley is now undergoing chemotherapy and doctors are confident she can beat the disease.

She hopes her story will raise awareness to the symptoms of ovarian cancer, prompting other women to see their doctor if they are worried.

Warning signs of the disease can be difficult to recognise, particularly in the early stages.

This is because they are often the same as symptoms of other less serious conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS).

Mrs Everley said: 'The symptoms are the same, so I thought it could have been irritable bowel syndrome

'I went down the gluten free route but that didn't make any difference.

'The idea of cancer hadn't even entered my head. You just never dream this going to happen to you.'

By early 2014, she had been suffering with her symptoms for three months.

Idly scrolling Facebook one evening, she noticed a post raising awareness of ovarian cancer.

'A friend had shared a post from a friend of theirs about her experiences of cancer and what she'd been through,' said Mrs Everley.

'There was a list of symptoms and I realised I had them all.

'I called my doctor straight away and told her that I thought I might have cancer.'

Medics confirmed Mrs Everley had a cyst, which was removed and sent away for a biopsy.

She was also referred for an internal examination, which revealed abnormalities.

In October 2014, she was called into East Surrey hospital.

'I thought I was just going in for check-up so I didn't think to take anyone with me,' she said.

'I was told I had clear cell carcinoma.

'It all sounded very medical and I had no idea what that meant. Finally, it dawned on me that it was a type of ovarian cancer.

'I was on my own finding this out. It was awful. I spent ages with the Macmillan nurse afterwards, sobbing in shock.

'I phoned my husband Mark as soon as I came out of hospital and told him over the phone. I couldn't keep it to myself, I had to tell somebody.

'Having to tell my son Harry was horrible. He knows I have ovarian cancer, but he's only five so he doesn't quite understand what cancer means.'

Two weeks later, Mrs Everley met with surgeons, who gave her a heartbreaking choice – whether to have one ovary removed, or a complete hysterectomy, which would leave her unable to have more children.

'I already had Harry, but I would have liked to have had more children,' she said.

'It was difficult but I decided on the full hysterectomy – I didn't want my cancer coming back.

'Afterwards doctors told me I'd made the right choice. I had stage 1c cancer, meaning the cancer cells weren't contained in my ovary.

'I'd have needed the hysterectomy eventually anyway.'

Now, Mrs Everley is nearing the end of her course of chemotherapy and doctors are confident she can be cured.

'Women need to know the signs because early diagnosis is the best chance of survival,’ Laura said.

'It's easy to dismiss and ignore symptoms, but it's not worth the risk.'