A pregnant mum was left horrified when a routine ultrasound revealed a “huge” tumour in one of her ovaries.
Carly Rolph was stunned to see the “basketball-sized” mass on a scan, nestled next to her growing baby.
The 30-year-old, who is married to her husband, Sam, 34, received the news at a 12-week appointment that she attended with her toddler son.
“Unfortunately, my husband had to work and was unable to come to the appointment with me,” the stay-at-home mum told Need To Know.
“The ultrasound technician asked me if I had a consultant appointment scheduled and when I said no, she explained to me that there was a ‘large mass’ that seemed to be in one of my ovaries.
“At that time, it was roughly the size of a football.
“I definitely wasn’t able to take on board what was happening.
“At first, I felt very numb – like it was a movie I was watching myself in.
“Once I got home, and certainly once I got the news for surgery, I was beside myself.
I had to almost completely dissociate from life in order to cope with the constant stress of the unknown.
“Would I get to meet my baby?
“Would I get to see my children grow up?
“Everything changed.”
Carly, who is from the US but lives in London, was escorted up to gynaecology.
She said: “The doctors asked me extensively about my family history.
“This is when the severity of it all landed.
“My late grandmother had cancer, though not ovarian – but she survived.
“I remember feeling mentally exhausted on the way home and when I was finally back, being able to let it all out and cry while talking to my husband.”
Carly and her husband then had to wait a month for an MRI and a further two weeks for the results.
She said: “At first, there was nothing I could do.
“We tried to keep ourselves busy to not think about it.
“With such a large mass, it felt like I was already eight months pregnant.
“People made lots of comments about my size.
“To avoid uncomfortable conversations, I made up answers.
“Sometimes saying I was further along than I was or saying because it was my second pregnancy, my body has adapted faster.”
Carly – who was diagnosed in early December 2023 – required surgery to remove the tumour, which was a risk to the mum’s growing bump.
She said: “The concerns explained to me were that, as my pregnancy progressed, the tumour could rupture and, in addition to severe pain, the abnormal cells could spread to every other part of my body.
“Equally, the longer we waited to have the surgery, during pregnancy, the more likely for miscarriage, stillbirth or pre-term labour.
“Until the week or so before the surgery, the only symptoms I had were similar to that of late pregnancy.
“I was constantly vomiting, was incredibly physically uncomfortable, couldn’t eat much due to lack of space and, in the weeks before the surgery, began having pains.”
While 23 weeks pregnant, she underwent an operation on 13 February 2024 at Queen’s Hospital in Romford.
Doctors also took a biopsy to find out more about the mass.
Carly was told it was a borderline tumour, which is a collection of abnormal cells, also sometimes described as atypical proliferative tumours.
While relieved to hear it wasn’t cancer, the mum was discharged five days later under strict instruction to rest and to “not pick anything up” for four weeks, which was a challenge.
She said: “My husband was the biggest support to me during this time.
“He stepped up to not only continue in his job, but take on full-time care of our toddler and take over household duties, all while helping me manage the absolute constant stress we were all under.
“I was not allowed to pick up my toddler for four weeks after surgery so I was unable to care for him alone.
“This was very hard for me with him being so young.”
Carly gave birth to her second son in mid-June and has since been tumour-free.
She said: “As the tumour has been removed, there is no more treatment to be had.
“But there is a risk it could come back in the other ovary so I will have regular scans and blood tests to monitor it.
“My husband and I have grown closer as a result and our life priorities have become much clearer.
“In fact, we are planning to take a trip to Istanbul in January and are planning to take an inter-rail trip around Europe because we’ve learned life is too precious to not do all the things you’ve ever dreamed of with the people you love the most.”
