The 2022/23 campaign came with a lot of success for the women’s first team but for Mollie Dench, it was a much different experience.

With injuries halting the once Women’s Super League starlet from gaining any momentum for her new side, Dench was then hit with the life-changing news that a tumour had been located inside her appendix.

The first-team full-back was one of many new signings that the club had made over both women’s teams last summer, with Dench making the switch from QPR, who compete in the FA Women’s National League.

Ready for a new challenge in football, Dench explains why she decided Brentford was the right club for her and how she settled in at the Bees.

“I had a tough season before joining Brentford spending the majority of the campaign sidelined due to a head injury. When I became fit again, I felt it was important to start fresh and look for a new environment to develop in,” explained Dench.

“I knew Eshe [Davis] and Afiya [Johnson] through my time at QPR and they were now Brentford players which was a big factor in my decision to join the club after listening to all the positive things they had to say.

"I really enjoyed the coaching style straight away, Karleigh [Osborne] and Sean [Hillier] know how to get the best out of you as a player and have made my time at the club a really enjoyable one from the first training session.”

The defender had a good spell early on as a Brentford player

Dench enjoyed a positive pre-season where she picked up some valuable minutes for her new club as the women’s first team edged closer to the 2022/23 campaign. The defender was only a few games into the season when an injury to her ankle ruled her out for two months just weeks after signing for the Bees.

The ankle injury Dench picked up seemed to be more critical than first thought as the pain reoccurred whilst the 21-year-old was preparing to return, forcing the Brentford no.23 out of action until January.

Dench explained: “It was a frustrating period for me to say the least, I was so excited to get a good season under my belt with Brentford so to get injured so early on was tough. I understand injuries are a part of the game and thought I would be back out there sooner rather than later which wasn’t the case, making it even tougher for me.

“After a few months out, I was ready to return, I’d put so much effort into resting my ankle making sure I did my rehabilitation properly and bringing my fitness levels back to where they needed to be, only for my ankle to let me down again. Of course, it was an upsetting time, but nothing compared to what I went through next.”

During the Christmas break, Dench showed good progress as she recovered from her ankle injury for the second time, returning to training again for the Bees in the new year. Upon her return, she began experiencing stomach pains which would halt her recovery process and lead her to seek medical advice from her local doctors.

“I remember after returning from my ankle injury for the second time I began to feel extremely tired and fatigued, even during my day-to-day life. I was experiencing shooting pains down my lower abdomen and this went on for a while before I decided I needed to visit my local doctors,” said Dench.

“At first, I was told it was nothing serious and that it was most likely just muscle strains which was causing discomfort, but the pain was only getting worse. It took a few trips to the doctors before they realised it could be a problem with my appendix and eventually, I was transferred to the Stoke Mandeville Hospital where I had laparoscopy surgery.”

It was during the procedure that the surgeons decided to remove Dench's appendix as it was believed that this may help ease the pain she was feeling in her abdomen.

Still suffering following the surgery, Dench was transferred to Wexham Park where she spent a week in hospital before she was able to go home and recover.

Dench was only able to make five appearances for the Bees in her debut season

It wasn’t first suspected that anything was wrong following the laparoscopy, but when her pathology results returned it showed she had a neuroendocrine tumour growing inside her appendix, a rare form of cancer.

Dench was then transferred to the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, which specialises in cancer, but had to wait two months for tests to find out if the disease had spread or if the surgery had cleared the cancer.

Reacting to the awful news, she said: “It was obviously very overwhelming, I knew that something wasn’t right but the last thing I thought was that I had cancer. The surgery was more just to see what was going on inside my stomach so to find out that I had a tumour was very distressing for myself and my family, but I don’t think it really hit me until I was given the all-clear.

“I was put on lots of medication following the surgery and was still feeling poorly but over time I was slowly beginning to get better. It was a really difficult time as I was just waiting for news on the situation but finally, two months after the tumour was discovered I was given the news me and my family all wanted so desperately: I’m cancer free!

“During the time I spent in hospital, I don’t think it really sunk in that I had cancer, it wasn’t until I was on the way home in the car with my family that we all became really emotional. In those situations I think it’s impossible to not fear the worst and you’re just hoping for good news so when that finally came after an incredibly tough few months, we were just all so relieved.”

Now fully recovered, Dench is determined to get back to fitness and eyes pre-season as a perfect opportunity for the defender to make her comeback for the Bees.

Speaking on her potential return, Dench said: “I’ve missed so much football over the past two years which has been extremely frustrating, Karleigh and the rest of the team showed an unbelievable amount of support through everything, and I’ll be forever grateful for that.

"We have a real family ethic at Brentford which makes me all the more determined to come back and be a part of this great team, I believe we can achieve so much more together, and I want to be a part of that.

“On a personal note, I know I will need to work on my fitness before anything, after being given the all-clear I obviously took it easy for a while and made sure I recovered properly but I’ve recently been working to get back to where I want to be.

"I’m now hoping for a successful 2023/24 campaign where I can enjoy my football without any interruptions and help the team to the league title that we so crave.”