'I had ovaries removed to prevent cancer - I'll be dead in a few years'

A mother has been diagnosed with incurable ovarian cancer despite having her ovaries removed after losing both her mum and grandmother to the very same disease. Aimee Knight, 50, watched her mother, Diane Erklin, then 46, lose her battle with ovarian cancer in 2000.

Diane's own mother had also died from the same illness years before. After discovering a lump in her breast in 2015, single mum-of-one Aimee discovered she carried a genetic mutation in her BRCA1 gene.

This placed her at a significantly higher risk of both breast and ovarian cancer, prompting Aimee to undergo a full preventative mastectomy and have both ovaries surgically removed in 2015 and 2016, so her son Payton, 23, wouldn't lose his mum the way Aimee had lost hers. In 2020, Aimee's sister Colleen Erklin, 37, also died of breast cancer making her even more convinced she had made the right call.

That was until Aimee noticed her stomach swelling in late 2025 and went to the doctor, suspecting a prolapsed bladder. Instead, she received the devastating news that she had stage three ovarian cancer, which had already spread to her lymph nodes.

Diane during chemotherapy (Image: Aimee Knight/SWNS)

Aimee revealed she was told that fragments of cells had been left behind during the removal surgery and had turned cancerous. Doctors have given her between two and five years to live, stating the condition is incurable.

Aimee, from Bellevue, Washington, US, speaking to Talk to the Press, said: "I saw what cancer did to my mom, my grandmother and great-grandmother. So when I got the test results that I had the mutated BRCA1 gene, I wanted all the risks removed.

"When the doctors did a scan of my stomach and told me there was a mass on my ovary, I said, 'that isn't right, I don't have an ovary!' I went through so much medically to prevent that happening to me, so I didn't expect that diagnosis at all.

"Despite everything I went through to prevent it, my son will have to go through the same loss I went through with my mom. Someone else's recklessness has cost me my life."

Aimee, who is unable to work due to disability, grew up knowing that cancer was prevalent on her mother's side of the family her great-grandmother had also died from ovarian cancer.

Aimee said: "Taking care of my mom when she was ill, it was brutal; a slow, horrible death."

Following a cancer scare when she discovered a lump in her breast around 15 years later Aimee decided to leave nothing to chance upon learning she was also at risk.

Aimee said: "When I got the genetic test results, I was so devastated. They told me that having my ovaries removed would cause early menopause, I'd look older, my hair would fall out at just 35 or 36. But I thought it was better than dying young of cancer."

Aimee's sister Colleen, who died of cancer (Image: Aimee Knight/SWNS)

Following her second procedure to remove both breasts in March 2016, Aimee experienced a number of complications, including a surgical staple being left inside her, which caused one of her expanders to collapse on several occasions. She was also left with no sensation in her nipples. It was not until 2019 that she underwent a reconstructive procedure using tissue taken from her abdomen. The result left her with considerable scarring and dimpling on her stomach, which she has been unable to have corrected.

She said: "I was too medically traumatised to get any touch-ups. I was just happy to have what resembled breasts in the end."

Through years of hardship, Aimee remained focused on the positives determined that she would not die of cancer in the same way her mother and other family members had. Her sister Colleen, who also carried the BRCA1 gene, lost her battle with breast cancer in 2020.

Last year, after experiencing a distended stomach, Aimee searched her symptoms online and suspected a prolapsed bladder. An MRI and CT scan uncovered the mass on her right ovary.

Aimee said: "It appeared that when I had my ovaries removed in 2015, a fragment of ovary was left behind, or maybe some cancer cells that weren't scraped. A distended stomach had been a symptom of ovarian cancer that my mom had before. I just didn't think I could get it."

Aimee Knight watched her mother, Diane Erklin, then 46, die of ovarian cancer in 2000 (Image: Aimee Knight/SWNS)

To Aimee's horror, because she had undergone preventative surgeries, warning signs of cancer including trouble urinating had gone undetected, and she was already at stage 3a. While that stage is not traditionally considered terminal, her doctor warned that due to her BRCA1 gene, even if she achieves remission, the cancer will return and she will ultimately die of ovarian cancer. Aimee has been informed she requires six rounds of chemotherapy and medication to prolong her life as much as possible - between two and five years.

Aimee said: "I truly thought we were cursed and I had broken the cancer curse by having my breasts and ovaries removed. I did all the preventative stuff which caused a lot of medical trauma - but I'll spend the rest of my life in hospital anyway.

"I can't believe I have ovarian cancer without even having ovaries. I thought I was safe."