Student learns 'menstrual pain' was actually football-sized cyst

Rebecca Woodthrope, pictured far left with her parents, claims that for years doctors had dismissed her complaints as menstrual pain before the massive cyst was discovered during an ultrasound of her kidney. (SWNS)

An 18-year-old student is concerned about the future of her fertility after doctors discovered a massive cyst had wrapped itself around one of her ovaries, effectively “killing” it. Rebecca Woodthrope, who claims that for years doctors had dismissed her complaints as menstrual pain, said she had been suffering pain since she was 12.

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“I was in so much pain, it was a relief to have my ovary and the cyst removed,” she told SWNS. “I did worry about the possibility of having children in the future, but I still have one ovary so I hope I’ll be able to become a mum one day. Still to this day I’m trying to build up to where I was years ago.”

Woodthrope shared scans that showed a football-sized mass that had been growing in her abdomen for years. She said she had been experiencing pains in her kidneys, thigh and abdomen for years that coincided with her menstrual cycle, and was put on birth control before the cyst was detected.

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In 2017, she went for an ultrasound on her kidney and learned the true cause of her pain.

“The lady told me it would need further action and I really panicked as hospitals make me nervous,” she told SWNS.

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In February 2018 she had the 15-centimeter mass, the ovary it was wrapped around, and a fallopian tube removed. The tumor was benign, but her surgery and recovery caused her to miss a year of school. She has since recovered and is back in school. Woodthrope credits the support from her family for helping through the ordeal.