A Cyst Bigger Than Twins!

Chanelle Mason had a growth weighing more than 8kg removed from her ovary

- By Lesego Seokwang

Like people the world over, she indulged in plenty of comfort eating during the lockdown, so it was totally understandable that she'd put on a bit of weight around her belly.

Or so Chanelle Mason thought.

“I noticed a lump but it went away when I pushed it, so I thought nothing of it,” the 32-year-old from Hertfordshire in the UK says.

But her tummy kept expanding and when she could no longer fit into her clothes and started experiencing pain across her ribcage, she finally decided to seek medical help.

Doctors were initially baffled when they examined her. She looked like she was at the full-term stage of pregnancy but multiple tests showed she definitely wasn't expecting.

They performed an ultrasound, which eventually revealed that what Chanelle had for months dismissed as a lockdown belly was actually a giant cyst growing on her right ovary.

Shed ignored it for so long that it had swelled to a width of about 32cm and weighed more than 8kg – the equivalent of a very heavy bowling ball or the weight of two healthy newborn babies.

The doctor said the pain I was experiencing under my ribs was where my organs had been moving because the cyst had grown so big the organs were being pushed up and pushed back,” she says.