Story at a glance
- A U.K. woman had an ovarian tumor weighing nearly 5 pounds removed last year. Although she had complained of symptoms consistent with an ovarian cancer diagnosis for years, she was told by her doctors that she was just overweight.
- Hannah Catton, 24, said she is sharing her story to inspire more women to advocate for themselves if they believe something is wrong.
- Catton’s story is not totally uncommon, and other survivors of ovarian cancer have said they were initially instructed by medical professionals to lose weight before receiving their diagnosis.
A woman in her early 20s last year had a 4-and-a-half-pound cancerous ovarian tumor removed. For years, she was told by doctors she was simply overweight.
Hannah Catton, 24, moved to Australia from the U.K. in 2019, two years before the tumor was finally detected and she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Catton said in an interview with the BBC that she had for years complained of symptoms including bloating, feeling full, irregular menstrual periods and frequent urinary tract infections. She said medical professionals in both Australia and the U.K. believed she had nothing to worry about, but she could stand to lose a few pounds.
As Catton’s symptoms worsened, she said doctors failed to do their due diligence, and, during one of her last appointments before the cancer was found, she was not properly assessed by her physician.
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“She didn’t palpate my abdomen, and if she had taken the time to do that she probably would have felt something was wrong in there,” Catton told the BBC. “She told me to lose weight, which was hard to hear, and I definitely wasn’t overweight … I’m pretty physically fit.”
After Catton collapsed in October, doctors had assumed she was experiencing an ectopic pregnancy, which occurs when a fertilized egg develops outside of the uterus. But scans soon revealed that the tumor, nearly half a foot in length, had burst.
Catton said she’s sharing her story to help women who may be experiencing something similar advocate for themselves and request additional testing and attention from doctors.
But Catton’s story is not altogether unique. In July, blogger Chanté Burkett shared that she had had a 13-pound ovarian tumor removed after experiencing “severe pelvic pain” that her doctor had chalked up to weight gain.
After suffering from abdominal pain and heavy bleeding, Michelle Bell, a mother of two in the U.K., was told by her doctor in 2020 to go on a diet. It was later confirmed that she had ovarian cancer.
As for Catton, she is currently undergoing chemotherapy and hopes she will be able to see her family soon.
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