Doctors only suspected a pregnancy Huge tumor at 17-year-old removed

Ovarian cancer instead of pregnancy: doctors remove young woman huge tumor
Last fall, a young British woman was hospitalized with severe abdominal pain. Because of her big belly, the doctors initially suspected that the 17-year-old was highly pregnant. But then they diagnosed cancer: they found a tumor the size of a watermelon.

Doctors initially assumed a pregnancy
When 17-year-old Olivia K. from Hull, England, came to the hospital last November with severe abdominal pain, the doctors initially thought the young woman was very pregnant. "I tend to have thin hips, so many people first thought my stomach was suggestive of pregnancy," she told the British daily The Sun. Months ago, Olivia had noticed that her stomach was a little puffed up, but ignored this fact until she finally got severe pain.

A young Englishwoman had come to a clinic with severe abdominal pain. The doctors suspected she was very pregnant. Then they realized: The 17-year-old had cancer. (Image: underdogstudios / fotolia.com)

Cyst had the "size of a watermelon"
In the clinic, the doctors finally made a terrible discovery: on the ultrasound scan they could see that a tumor had formed in the young woman's ovary, which was surrounded by a huge cyst. Olivia had cancer. "When the doctors saw the scans, they just said" Wow. " They were really scared of the size, "explained Olivia. The cyst was bigger than a baby and weighed over nine pounds. "It was the size of a watermelon," said the teenager.

Patient is completely healthy again today
"When I found out it was cancer, I was totally shocked. I never thought I could get something life threatening at seventeen, "Olivia said. "The cyst was so big that I thought it could always burst like a balloon - I was always worried that the cancer could spread throughout the body." But the young woman was lucky. The doctors at St. James's Hospital in Leeds were able to remove the tumor along with the cyst, the cancer had not spread. When she was told that the cancer was defeated and she was fully recovered, this was "the best Christmas gift".

Fertility was not affected by the cancer
Just a few weeks after surgery, Olivia was so fit again that she made an eleven-kilometer hike. The treating surgeon, dr. Richard Hutson also assured her that fertility was not affected by the cancer and that she could have children. Katherine Taylor from the "Ovarian Cancer Action" commented in the Sun: "Although ovarian cancer risk is relatively rare in young women, it is important that all women are aware of the symptoms."

Warning sign for ovarian cancer
According to the Charité Women's Hospital in Berlin, there are some early warning signs. These include bleeding outside of the menstrual cycle or after menopause, seemingly unexplained stomach pains or indigestion, unexplained weight loss, increase in abdominal circumference, fatigue and fatigue. The experts point out that all these symptoms can of course have harmless causes. However, they recommend that you consult a gynecologist for clarification if one or more symptoms occur. For women over the age of 50, an annual ultrasound scan of the ovaries is recommended. Due to mortality, ovarian cancer is sometimes considered more dangerous than breast cancer. (Ad)