Parents, always check what is causing your little girl’s tummy ache, as it can be one of the symptoms of ovarian cancer. Read this mum’s story to learn more.
What can you read in this article?
- An excruciating tummy ache that brought her to the hospital
- Unsuspecting doctors found a huge cyst in a 12-year-old’s ovary
- Symptoms of ovarian cysts
It was 1993, I was a healthy and active 12-year-old child getting ready for my high school life. School was on break so I had a lot of time with computer games, sketching, and bonding with my cousins.
But one morning in April, I suddenly felt a tummy ache, so intense that I started throwing up. My mum tried home remedies. She massaged my tummy with eucalyptus and put on a warm compress. Unfortunately, it did not ease the pain.
The mysterious tummy ache
She got so worried that on that same day, my mum brought me to my paediatrician to have me checked. The doctor asked for a family sickness history and performed physical examinations in her clinic. The signs of pain were unclear, so my paediatrician requested laboratory tests and scans. The doctor suspected that it was appendicitis.
The results came out but the scans, laboratory tests, and physical examinations were all normal. So our doctor referred me to be admitted in the hospital for observation and proper monitoring.
My mum, who is a worrier, was so nervous the whole time she was packing my hospital bag. I remember watching her so confused. She kept pacing across the room mumbling all the things we needed to bring, calling close relatives for support.
When she was done packing, she told me to wait as she calls for a taxi. Moments later, she came back riding a taxi and we went to the hospital.
My mum felt relieved when we finally settled in my hospital room. Laboratory tests and physical examinations were repeated to pinpoint what is causing my tummy ache. Again, results were all clear that even my attending surgeon got confused about my medical condition.
Five days have passed and the pain got even more intense, but the doctors cannot pinpoint what is causing my tummy ache. I was in and out of the laboratory to double-check what was causing the discomfort.
I remember crying every time my IV butterfly needle got misaligned and the nurses needed to insert the needle again. As a child, it was so traumatizing to see anyone in a white uniform entering the room, because I don’t know what test they were going to do next.
The moment of truth
On my 6th day in the hospital, my mum got so frustrated and worried because my condition was not getting any better. She spoke to the surgeon and was advised that the doctor can perform an emergency surgery, but there is no guarantee that it’s really appendicitis because the tests were all clear. My mum signed a waiver and the surgery was performed.
The nurses prepared me and took me to the operating room. The room was so cold and bright. During the surgery, the doctors were surprised to see that there was a huge cystic mass on my right ovary – as large as a pig’s heart as they described it.
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A gynaecologist was referred to me to assess my condition. They found out that aside from the big cystic mass on my right ovary, there were small cystic follicles that were starting to grow on my left ovary.
Since there were damages already, my right ovary was surgically removed. My left ovary was cauterized to remove the small cysts. My appendix was also removed because it was already starting to swell due to the infection.
Symptoms of ovarian cyst
According to the website of Massachussetts’ General Hospital, an ovarian cyst is an abnormal fluid-filled pocket that develops on the inside of the female reproductive organ or ovaries. While it is more common for women in child-bearing age, ovarian cysts can also affect girls and women of all ages as it develops at different stages in the menstrual cycle in response to changing levels of sex hormones.
The cyst can occur in one or both ovaries, either in single sacs or clusters, and sometimes filled with blood or fluid. They can be found in different locations in the ovaries. Most ovarian cysts that occur in young women and children are benign or non-cancerous, while some develop into cancer.
While some small ovarian cysts go away on their own without causing any pain, the following symptoms on a girl could indicate that the cyst has grown bigger and needs medical attention:
- Sharp pain in the pelvic (lower abdominal) area during the ovulation phase of the menstrual cycle
- Irregular period
- Pelvic pain that doesn’t go away
- Bloating, swelling, or a feeling of fullness in the lower abdomen
- A need to urinate that doesn’t go away. This can happen if the cyst is large enough to push against the other internal organs and put pressure on the bladder
If a girl develops ovarian torsion, where the cyst is large and heavy that the ovaries tend to twist in an abnormal way, her symptoms will be much more immediate and severe such as:
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- Severe pelvic pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- Loss of consciousness (passing out)
Because these cysts usually cause no symptoms, they are often diagnosed by chance during tests for other conditions. If a child is showing symptoms of an ovarian cyst, doctors can use multiple tests to make a diagnosis.
Ask your doctor if your child needs to have a pelvic ultrasound to see the inside of her abdomen and including the ovaries. Blood testing can also help diagnose ovarian cysts by checking the child’s hormone levels.
READ MORE:
Researchers Find That Almost Half of Ovarian Cancer Patients Are Initially Misdiagnosed
This Little Singapore Girl’s Stomach Ache Turned Out to Be Ovarian Cancer
The future downside that didn’t happen
After the surgery, the doctors talked to my mum and told her that I can no longer bear a child.
If I’m lucky, I may have at least one if I get married as early as 18 years old. Aside from that, the chance for me to conceive and get pregnant after the age of 20 was almost impossible.
I didn’t know about it right away because my mum didn’t tell me. When I got out of the hospital and was slowly recovering, my cousins joked about me being barren. I did not take it seriously at that time because I never heard my mum or the doctors talking about it.
Fast forward to many years later, I have three lovely children via cesarean section. It was only when I told my mum about my first pregnancy that she told me what the doctors told her years ago. She cannot believe the news. It was, by any definition, a miracle.
These instances in my life proved that nothing is impossible with God. We didn’t know that the pain and tummy ache I was feeling were already symptoms of ovarian cyst and they found it in time before it put my life at risk.
Then, although I was not aware of my condition, I still got pregnant and bore children. True enough, what is meant for me was given to me by God.
Translated with permission from theAsianparent Philippines.