A woman has been diagnosed with cancer after a routine health check at her GP found she had cysts in her ovaries totalling the size of a six-month-old foetus.
Natasha Inman, 33, had “no symptoms” before the annual health check, aside from being slightly bloated.
But when her GP examined her stomach and did a cervical screening test, they found a mass in her ovaries.
Pictured: Natasha Inman in hospital recently (July 2023). (Credit: Jam Press)
Scans and tests confirmed her worst fears – she had four cysts on her ovaries totalling 40cm – the size of a 30-week foetus.
“When the doctor told me, I was in shock and didn’t believe it,” Natasha, from Leeds but now living in Dubai, told NeedToKnow.co.uk.
“I’d had no symptoms, I was just a bit bloated, but I never would have gone to the doctors about it – it wasn’t affecting my life very much.
“I think, looking back now, I did struggle at the gym for about three months, especially anything that involved lying on my stomach – but again, I didn’t think much of it.
“[I thought it was] just bloating perhaps.”
Doctors said the cysts were the same size as if she had been 5-6 months pregnant.
After doctors found the cysts, Natasha, who works in finance, had a caesarean section to remove them and they were sent off for testing.
She said: “I didn’t think anything of it, I just started to get back on with my life and work.
“Two weeks later the doctor messaged me to say I needed to come and see her, and to bring a friend with me.
“Again, I didn’t think anything of this, I just thought maybe it is standard routine.
“[When they told me] I was in shock and it was all a bit of a blur.
“The thing that scared me the worst was the word chemotherapy and the thought of losing my hair.
“I’ve kept such long healthy hair for all of my life and I couldn’t imagine that being taken away from me.”
On 4 May she was officially diagnosed with stage 1 grade 3 germ cell teratoma ovarian cancer.
Doctors discussed treatment options with her and a week later, Natasha had emergency egg freezing before egg retrieval on 22 May to ensure that if chemotherapy affected her fertility, she could still carry a baby with her frozen eggs.
Natasha said: “Having a family has always been a dream of mine so to have the option of having my own child possibly taken away from me was equally as hard to deal with along with being diagnosed with cancer.
“I am keeping positive though that I will be able to have a family with my frozen eggs and/or conceive naturally with one ovary.”
By 29 May, the young woman started the first of four cycles of gruelling chemotherapy.
When that finishes in early August, she will have her ovaries and fallopian tube removed.
Natasha added: “The worst thing for me was the thought of losing my hair so I tried the cold cap for the first two cycles.
“Sadly it didn’t work and I had to cut my hair off.
“That was the hardest thing and I am still struggling with my new identity.
“I do have a wig but of course it’s not the same.
“The other thing that has changed a lot is how your truest friends will stick with you by your side and there are other people who would rather not who you once thought were close to you.
“This has also been a huge shift in knowing who to trust around you.
“So far the treatment has been really hard.
“I have found it very hard mentally and physically but I am lucky that I caught it early so I can heal and get better.”
