A 20-year-old Florida woman has described the life changing effects of having a cyst weighing more than 100lbs removed from her ovaries.
Allison Fisher, from Jacksonville, underwent surgery to have the huge cyst that resembled an exercise ball removed after she was diagnosed by doctors in 2021.
Advert
Describing how the cyst felt, she told local station News4Jax it felt like she was pregnant with ten children.
She said: "I let myself believe that if I ignored it, it would go away. I was scared, I was just really scared.
"I felt like I was pregnant with ten kids. I couldn't lay on my stomach, it felt like all of my organs were being crushed."
She had symptoms including stomach pain, bloating and even experienced a period that lasted an entire year, yet Allison still initially avoided seeing doctors, hoping the pain would just disappear.
Advert
Explaining why she avoided doctors for so long, she explained: "It was also the height of the pandemic and I was terrified to go out. I didn't want to try and find doctors. I also didn't have health insurance, so I just ignored my issues completely.
"[But] after watching my mother's battle and what she went through, I realised that I should not be putting off my issues in the way that I was."
Speaking to doctors in 2021, they discovered she had a giant ovarian cyst, which measured 20inches by 20inches, about the size of an exercise ball or extra large watermelon, and weighed 104lbs, accounting for a fifth of her bodyweight.
Advert
Having the huge cyst removed has transformed life for 20-year-old Allison, who said it made her feel "like a person" again.
She told News4Jax: "Well, for starters, I can see my feet again, and I haven't been able to do that in years.
"I feel so much lighter. I feel like a person, I can wear clothes, I can do things that normal people can do."
Advert
The doctor who performed the procedure, Dr Martin Martino, said: "Tumors this size are extremely rare, so as soon as I met Allison, I knew this would be a team approach – and our team was ready.
"The robotic-assisted technique is minimally invasive and we only make small incisions, so it often means less pain, less scarring and a faster recovery for our patients.
"This great surgical outcome was made possible by our multidisciplinary team, including our intensive care doctors, gynecologic oncology team, hospitalists, nursing teams and dietitians, who all helped Allison in this critical moment."
Niamh Spence