Doctors thought I was eight months pregnant, but my bump was a TUMOUR
A TEENAGER who looked eight months pregnant shocked medics when they discovered her swollen stomach was actually being caused by a deadly tumour.
Olivia Key's doctors thought she was pregnant
Doctors thought Olivia Key, 18, was expecting a baby but a scan revealed the student sports coach was carrying a one-and-a-half stone cancerous cyst.
Olivia from Hull, East Yorks, was rushed into hospital with excruciating stomach pains, being caused by the mass on her ovary.
She said: “I had blood tests, urine samples, checks to see if I had appendicitis and even to rule out whether I was pregnant.
The cyst was so huge I thought it was going to pop like a balloon - at any moment I feared the cancer would spread throughout my body
"When I found out it was cancer I was left in utter shock, I never would have thought I'd get something so life-threatening at 17.
"The cyst was so huge I thought it was going to pop like a balloon - at any moment I feared the cancer would spread throughout my body.”
At 30cm the mass was the size of a watermelon and had been growing since 2013.
But slim Olivia thought it was her body changing shape until the pain got so intense she could not leave her bed for days.
Surgeons at St James Hospital in Leeds, West Yorks, removed the cyst and Olivia faced an anxious wait to discover whether the cancer had spread.
One week before Christmas last year, she was given the all-clear.
She is now telling her story to highlight the symptoms of ovarian cancer so young women get checked out.
Olivia was not worried when her stomach started to bloat
She said: "I'd had the lump on my stomach for a year and if I could turn back time I would have had it checked out there and then.
"When I was told the cancer wouldn't return it was incredible, it went from the worst moment of my life to being the best.
"My family and I were overjoyed - I don't think I could have done this without their support.”
The tumour grew to 30cm before Olivia had a scan
Dr Richard Hutson, the gynaecological oncologist who performed Olivia's surgery said the teenager was incredibly lucky the tumour had not started to break or leak.
He said: "It contained just under four litres of fluid that we had to drain before removing the cyst through a small incision.
"Additionally there has been no damage to her fertility she will be in the same boat as anyone else of her age if she wants children in the future."
Olivia was given the all-clear last year and has been living life to the full ever since
More than 7,000 women in are diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the UK each year, one in five are under the age of 50.
Katherine Taylor, chief executive of Ovarian Cancer Action, said: "Although ovarian cancer risk is relatively low in young women, it's important that all women are informed about the symptoms.
"These are persistent bloating, peeing more often, persistent tummy pain and feeling full more quickly.”