 A woman who lived with a 40cm cyst which weighed 2.5st says it was so big, strangers assumed she was pregnant. Siobhan Foster, 26, started suffering from 'excruciating' stomach pain before tests revealed she had a cyst a month later. Now, she's had the mass removed, and says she feels 'amazing.' Siobhan, from Nottingham, began experiencing abdominal pain in March 2022. She says: 'It was excruciating. I was very large, and I struggled with breathing.' She had an emergency appointment where medics suggested she may have a cyst. A scan confirmed this, and blood tests and an MRI a month later also confirmed that the cyst was not cancerous. Siobhan needed surgery to remove it, but had to wait 11 months due to long NHS waiting times – in the months that followed the cyst, which was on the broad ligament of the uterus, continued to grow. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video It left her struggling to walk and unable to continue working in childcare. She also became self-conscious by the ever growing bump. 'People were thinking – 'she's pregnant'. I was very self-conscious,' she says. 'I felt embarrassed. Sometimes I didn't want to go out the house.' Siobhan Foster before the cyst was drained (Picture: Siobhan Foster / SWNS) People mistook Siobhan for being pregnant (Picture: Siobhan Foster / SWNS) Siobhan, a child practioner, finally had keyhole surgery in June 2023 at Nottingham City Hospital, where medics drained 16 litres of fluid from the cyst. She also says she lost two-and-half stone due to the size of it. Now, she feels amazing and says the four-and-a half hour operation was life-changing. The cyst grew to 40cm (Picture: Siobhan Foster / SWNS) 'The surgery has been life changing. It's been the best thing. It's like going to sleep and waking up three st){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
A woman who lived with a 40cm cyst which weighed 2.5st says it was so big, strangers assumed she was pregnant.
Siobhan Foster, 26, started suffering from ‘excruciating’ stomach pain before tests revealed she had a cyst a month later.
Now, she’s had the mass removed, and says she feels ‘amazing.’
Siobhan, from Nottingham, began experiencing abdominal pain in March 2022. She says: ‘It was excruciating. I was very large, and I struggled with breathing.’