A 20-year-old Florida woman who had a cyst removed from her ovaries that weighed more than 100 pounds has spoken about how it changed her life.
In 2021, physicians in Jacksonville identified Allison Fisher with a large cyst that resembled an exercise ball. She had surgery to have the cyst removed.
She informed the local news station News4Jax that the cyst made her feel as if she was carrying 10 children when describing how it felt.
I was afraid, I was just extremely scared, and I felt like I was carrying 10 babies, but I made myself think that if I ignored it, it would go away. I was unable to rest on my stomach because it felt as if all of my organs were being crushed.
Although though Allison suffered symptoms such as stomach discomfort, bloating, and even a period that lasted a whole year, she originally decided against consulting a doctor in the hopes that the suffering would just go away.
She stated why she stayed away from physicians for so long: “I was scared to go outside and it was also the height of the epidemic. I was unwilling to look for physicians. I also didn’t have health insurance, so I entirely disregarded my problems.
“But I realized that I shouldn’t be putting off my troubles in the manner that I was after observing my mother’s fight and what she went through.”
When she visited the doctor in 2021, they found that she had a massive ovarian cyst that was a fifth of her body weight and was 20 inches by 20 inches, similar to the size of an extra-large watermelon or an exercise ball.
For 20-year-old Allison, having the enormous cyst removed completely changed her life and allowed her to feel “like a human” once again. “Well, for starters, I can see my feet again, and I haven’t been able to do that in years,” she said to News4Jax.
“I feel a great deal lighter. The surgeon who carried out the treatment, Dr. Martin Martino, said: “Tumors this large are incredibly unusual, so as soon as I saw Allison, I knew this would be a team effort – and our team was ready. I feel like a person, I can wear clothing, and I can do things that normal people can do.”
Since the robotic-assisted approach is less invasive and only requires minor incisions, patients often experience less discomfort, less scarring, and a quicker recovery.
“Our multidisciplinary team, including our intensive care physicians, gynecologic oncology team, hospitalists, nursing staff, and nutritionists, who all assisted Allison during this crucial period, made this wonderful surgical result possible,” the hospitalists said.
