A WOMAN whose daughter died of ovarian cancer travelled to the House of Commons last week to raise awareness of the disease.

Yvonne Edwards took her campaign direct to Enfield North MP Nick de Bois at a parliamentary reception on Tuesday.

The event was organised by charity Target ovarian cancer to highlight the need for better diagnosis and treatment.

The disease is known as the silent killer as it has one of the lowest survival rates of all cancers.

Ms Edwards said: “Too many women’s lives are lost in the UK to ovarian cancer. Target Ovarian Cancer organised this parliamentary reception at the House of Commons so that I could meet my MP to make sure he knows what it’s like to have ovarian cancer in the UK.

"There’s much that can be improved now and the chance to tell our MPs what we’d like them to do is vital.”

Mr de Bois said: "It was a real pleasure to meet Yvonne. I am committed to helping a number of cancer groups engage with government to help ensure we both raise awareness of symptons publicly and improve cancer care outcomes in the NHS."

John Baron MP, chair of the all party parliamentary group on cancer, said: “The newly-elected parliament has a critical role to play in ensuring women with ovarian cancer are diagnosed quickly and treated successfully.”

Nearly 7,000 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year and only 30 percent will survive five years after diagnosis.

Unlike with other cancers, the survival rate has not improved in the last 30 years, while three-quarters of women are diagnosed with the cancer at a late stage.