Eleven women living with ovarian cancer took to the catwalk at the May Fair hotel in London for the Touch of Teal fashion show, organised by Lady Adele Sewell MBE and her daughter. The models, aged from their 30s into their 70s, are among the 7,500 women in the UK diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year. They wore outfits by Apricot, Nigerian fashion curator Lande Adejumo and John Lewis.
Models share their stories
Candace Murphy, 37, from Wantage, Oxfordshire, was thrilled to take part while coping with cancer that has spread around her body. The former business owner and her husband, Karl, 41, a carpenter, had been thrilled when she fell pregnant with their long-awaited son Kian, now 12. But in 2021, she lost three stone without trying and experienced pain in her hips, pelvis and thighs. She said: “I’d suffered from endometriosis for years, but this pain felt different. I was constantly worn out, too.”
A scan in April 2023 revealed advanced ovarian cancer that had spread to her spleen, bowel, stomach, appendix, bladder and diaphragm. Doctors told her that without treatment she had only 12 months left, but that could be prolonged with medical intervention. Candace, who has since had treatment including a hysterectomy, said: “All I could think of was Kian - the little boy who had healed my broken heart. I made a decision. I thought I had a lifetime to do things with Kian, but I needed to do them now.”
Since then, Candace has watched the Lion King musical, visited Paris and the Eiffel Tower, Rome, and ridden in reindeer sleighs in Finland. She said: “When I’m gone, Kian will have so many precious memories to choose from. He will remember seeing me in the fashion show too. I will never forget this day or these amazing women.”
From diagnosis to the runway
Joining her on the catwalk was mental health team leader Randa Shami, 33, who lives in Coventry with her husband, psychotherapist Connaire, 35. Her mum Teresa had ovarian cancer and died of sepsis after an operation when Randa was just 11. Teresa passed on the inherited BRCA gene mutation to Randa and her sister Rawaa, increasing their chance of developing ovarian and breast cancer. Rawaa had a preventative mastectomy aged 30, and Randa was due to have hers in 2024, also at 30, but she was suddenly diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which had already spread to her liver, spleen and abdomen.
She had surgery in October and recovered enough to get married in August with her sister as maid of honour. She has just published a book of poems, Gifts from my Mother, in which she penned a verse to her mum. She said: “I admire all the Touch of Teal ladies for how they have dealt with this disease in such a strong and resilient way.”
For Nalini Lad, 68, her moment on the catwalk marked 24 years since her diagnosis. The former textile worker, who lives with husband Harkisthan, 75, a retired engineer, in Leicester, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer after doctors at first thought she was pregnant. She said: “When I told them I couldn’t have sex as it was too painful, they insisted ‘miracles do happen.’ After two negative pregnancy tests and a scan, when doctors had told me I was pregnant with a large baby, they eventually discovered it was a stage three ovarian tumour instead. People usually only live a few years with this type of tumour and no one can quite believe I’m still here.”
Strength and resilience on display
Mum-of-three Alexandra Abplanalp, 66, who last worked as a teaching assistant, lives with husband Mark, 65, an ex-banker, in Leatherhead, Surrey. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in June 2023 after suffering with bloating and sharp pelvic pain, she had two operations and a pioneering heated chemotherapy treatment and is now disease free. Of the other models, she said: “What we share has made me feel less alone.”
Dance teacher Fiona Grotefield, 55, lives in Winchmore Hill, Buckinghamshire, with her husband Mark, 58, a global marketing director, and shows pensioners in their 80s how to bust moves at her Silver Swans class. In 2024, after a tummy upset on holiday, a CT scan revealed cancer in her ovaries, spleen and bowel. During chemo, she said: “My Silver Swans - they are the ones who got me through it.”
Retired vet Frances Allan, 56, lives with husband Simon, 59, a retired director, in Morpeth, Northumberland. When she felt unusually tired in Feb 2023, with a pain between her ribs, she thought it was due to a skiing fall, but discovered it was ovarian cancer. After recovering from surgery and chemotherapy, she retired early and did a round the world trip with her husband. She said: “It was a cancer diagnosis that prompted me to explore more of the world.”
Johannah Williams, 54, works in compliance and lives in Haywards Heath, West Sussex. Telling a GP pal on a girls’ day trip to Brighton in Easter 2022 that she’d had some spotting saved her life. Urged to go for tests, doctors found she had ovarian tumours. Now running a women’s wellbeing class, she said: “I loved doing the fashion show - it was so empowering.”
Retired technical claims manager Maggie Nightingale, 61, lives in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, with her husband Christopher, 61, a leasing company divisional director. Diagnosed in September 2022 with a 9cm cancerous cyst on her ovary, which had spread, she’s had years of treatment, but was well enough to attend her son’s wedding in May last year. She called her fellow models “my inspiration.”
Michelle Tennant, 61, who works for a domestic abuse charity, lives in Chorley, Lancs, with husband Frank, 62, an LGV driver. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in Nov 2023, she said: “Going down the catwalk felt like such an achievement.”
Former cleaning company boss Suzie Connell, 57, lives in Lincoln with her husband Nick, 57, a carpet fitter, who she married in November 2023. She didn’t know it, but she had cancer on her wedding day and was diagnosed a couple of months later. She got the all clear in Jan 2025, but it came back in October and she’s currently having more chemotherapy. She said: “I’m still determined to have my Happy Ever After, I’m never going to give up fighting.”
Retired traffic controller Katy Tomlinson, 74, of Penn, Buckinghamshire, was diagnosed in September 2021 and had three years of chemotherapy and surgery, only for cancer to return, this time in her liver, in summer 2024. Taking what she thought would be her last holiday in Barbados a few weeks after that Christmas, her condition has since improved. She said: “My oncologist once described me as Wonder Woman. My message would be ‘just go out and live your best life.”
Fundraising and awareness
Organiser Lady Adele, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007, revealed that the show had, so far, raised more than £28,000. She said: “The women were amazing. To see them on the catwalk after everything they have been through was an incredible experience.”
Donations can be made at the Ovacome fundraiser page for Touch of Teal. The charity highlights the B.E.A.T signs of ovarian cancer: bloating that doesn't come and go, eating difficulties and feeling full more quickly, abdominal and pelvic pain felt most days, and toilet changes in urination or bowel habits.
