I was so bloated I could barely fit into my wedding dress – then I dropped 4 sizes and lost 50lb overnight
A BRIDE-to-be was terrified when doctors found the source of her pre-wedding ‘bloating’ – a 50lb ovarian tumour.
Ash was getting ready to marry her now-husband when she started experiencing changes to her menstrual cycle and found herself struggling to stay awake.
As the 26-year-old had been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome – a hormonal disorder – a few years prior, both she and her doctor thought the bloating and other symptoms were related.
Nothing she was advised to try helped the issue, until an ultrasound scan found the cause: a 16in (40cm) mass.
“I was terrified,” Ash, who lives in Florida, US, and works in mental health, said.
“They referred me to an oncologist basically the next day.
“I remember I tried to go back to work after the appointment and I just threw up from the anxiety. I was scared I was going to die.”
Ash – who married her husband five months before the terrifying find – was “barely” fitting into her wedding dress due to the presumed bloating.
She said: “I was really worried my dress wasn’t going to fit.
“It caused so much stress because I wouldn’t have time to get it altered and I was trying my hardest to not gain weight.
“My self esteem was unbelievably low leading up to the wedding, though thankfully my husband helped me feel beautiful on the day.
“I felt a lot of discomfort during the wedding – I was exhausted and had to sit for everything except pictures and the ceremony.
“I couldn’t eat our meal or cake because of nausea.
“We ended up leaving our reception early partially due to my pain and fatigue.”
After doctors found the mass, Ash was booked in for surgery to remove it in November 2024.
Medics weren’t sure exactly what they were dealing with until they could biopsy it, leaving the young woman uncertain of her future.
Ash said: “They found that it was a greater than 16in (40cm) mucinous borderline tumour of the left adnexa.
“It was over 15 gallons and weighed approximately 45 to 50lb (20 to 23kg).
“From what the doctor explained, a borderline tumour means that there were enough cancerous cells to not be in the clear, but not enough to be fully diagnosed with cancer.”
Thankfully, the tumour didn’t attach to any other organs, but Ash lost her ovary, fallopian tube and appendix.
I was exhausted and in pain. I could barely even walk around the grocery store without sitting down
Ash
Ash said: “I was in hospital for about a week after surgery to recover.
“My ribs and pelvic bones were warped and displaced from the tumour so I had to wait for them to shift back to normal naturally.”
She did, however, lose a significant amount of weight.
“With the tumour, I was a US size 24 or 26, or a XXXL or XXXXL, but now I am a size 18 to 20, or XXL,” Ash said.
“It’s a huge change in sizes. It felt weird, but it was also such a relief.
“It’s been hard adjusting to how I look now, I feel like I’ve developed some sort of body dysmorphia.
“I still visualise my body how it was with the tumour and even now, months out, I’m still shocked when I look in the mirror.
“I also had to get rid of more than half my clothes because they were too big, which was hard because I love my clothes!”
As of her three-month follow-up, doctors are pleased with the results of the surgery – with examinations showing nothing of concern.
Ash said: “Going forward, I have to have a physical exam and blood tests every three months by the oncologist to make sure it doesn’t come back on my other ovary.
“My oncologist said that in 10 years they are looking at doing a full hysterectomy as a preventative measure since I have a higher chance of developing ovarian, cervical and uterine cancer when I’m older.
“They want to wait 10 years to allow me the choice to have children.
“But they also let me know that my fertility is greatly diminished with everything that comes with PCOS and tumours.”
‘I was basically bed-bound’
Of the toll her medical journey has had on her, Ash added: “This impacted my life in so many ways I can’t even articulate it.
“For a year I was exhausted and in pain. I love nature walks and paddle boarding, and I couldn’t do that anymore.
“I could barely even walk around the grocery store without sitting down.
“Towards the end I was basically bed-bound. It affected my confidence, my body changed so much, most of my clothes stopped fitting and my hair was thinning.
“It also affected my mood – I was always irritated and easily angry, I was anxious and depressed.
“Currently I’m trying to work on the anxiety that this caused. But overall it’s nice to be able to do the things I love again.
“Life is slowly getting back to normal now. I can do most things – I just have to be careful not to overdo it.
“We’re planning to have a honeymoon do-over, and going to the restaurant that catered our wedding so I can finally taste our wedding cake.”
Borderline ovarian tumours
BORDERLINE ovarian tumours are abnormal cells that form in the tissue covering the ovary.
About 15 out of every 100 ovarian tumours are borderline tumours.
They are sometimes called atypical proliferative tumours or tumours of low malignant potential, and they usually affect women aged 20 to 40.
Symptoms include pain, pressure or swelling in the stomach, pain during or after sex, and vaginal bleeding not related to your period.
Borderline tumours are usually cured with surgery, and patients experience no further problems.
Only very rarely do borderline tumour cells change into cancer cells.
Source: Cancer Research UK