Written by Lowrie Parry
"In January 2022 I was scanned and my cyst, whom we now named Cyril, was still there and was still 9cm...I began to bloat and I started to look pregnant. I also began bleeding irregularly and was in a lot of pain."
Lowrie, Ovarian Cancer Survivor
In 2020 I was in the early stages of pregnancy and attended a private scan.
Sadly I was found to be having a silent miscarriage but they also discovered a 18cm complex cyst 4 months later. They removed the cyst and saved my ovary ; thankfully it was benign. A few months later I was pregnant again and at my 13 week scan they found my cyst had returned and it was big at 9cm. I continued my pregnancy and my daughter was born healthy in November 2021.
In January 2022 I was scanned and my cyst, whom we now named Cyril, was still there and was still 9cm. I was told they'd remove it soon enough and for all of 2022 I carried on as normal until after the summer.
I began to bloat and I started to look pregnant. I also began bleeding irregularly and was in a lot of pain.
A scan later showed Cyril had grown to 12cm and was positioned on my bladder which explained my pain when I went to urinate. I ended up in urine retention twice meaning the cyst was stopping me from passing urine and it was building up in my bladder instead.
Finally I had a date and Cyril was removed. By this point it was November 2022 and Cyril was 25cm! He also broke during the op.
In the New Year I had a call to say it was cancer, a rare form known as mucinous ovarian cancer. With this rare cancer options are limited so it was decided a full hysterectomy would be best. I then went on to have chemotherapy and am so far clear of cancer.
It has been a long hard journey but my little girl has helped me through it.
Image: Lowrie Parry