"I felt like Frankenstein's Monster after a two-stone tumour growing in my womb had to be removed"
SWNS
2023-10-16
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A woman was left feeling ''like Frankenstein's monster" after a two-stone tumour was removed from her WOMB.
Sarah Haslam, 44, was devastated after severe fibroids left her looking nine months pregnant.
The full-time carer first noticed symptoms when she struggled with an eight-week-long period in February 2019
Her stomach then began to grow leaving friends and family assuming she was pregnant with her third child.
It took a month for her to get a diagnosis of uterine fibrosis, in March 2019. These are growths, usually non-cancerous, that appear on the uterus.
After waiting 18 months for the removal of the tumour at Oldham Hospital, Manchester, she has now had the huge mass removed.
Medics were forced to remove her whole womb in order to save her life after the tumour had seen her weight drop by seven stone going from a size 12 to a size four.
But the procedure has left her with an ''enormous'' L-shaped seven-inch scar running from her breast bone to her vagina.
Despite complications, Sarah has now returned to her normal weight and is on the road to recovery.
Sarah, from Radcliffe, Manchester, said: "I looked pregnant with a nine-month-old tumour.
"My scar looks like Frankenstein's monster.
"I can't even go swimming with my grandson.
"I still don't leave my house without people."
Sarah's ordeal began in February 2019, when she had a two-month-long period.
After a check-up with the GP and an ultrasound scan, medics found uterine fibroids commonly known as 'fibro tumours' in her uterus.
Due to their small size, she was given a coil, in March 2019, to simply reduce the bleeding they caused.
Sarah, a mother-of-three, said: "I was spending so much money on sanitary towels.
"I was wearing two or three sanitary towels at a time and buying them in bulk.
"This one time I was wearing white jeans and it looked like a murder scene.
"I felt bloated and incredibly weak.
"I couldn't leave my house, I had a puddle at my feet sometimes."
But the coil failed to prevent the bleeding and left her in "excruciating" pain.
After suffering a seizure at home, she was rushed to Oldham Hospital, Manchester, where doctors discovered the tumour was degenerating which caused sepsis and pneumonia.
Sarah, engaged to Daniel Clarke, 44, a warehouse worker, said: "After bleeding for 32 days straight, I knew something wasn't right.
"I'd never had a seizure, it was terrifying.''
Sarah spent two weeks in the hospital to prevent the infection from spreading further.
During the following nine months, she was in and out of hospital with fibroid complications and could ''literally see'' the tumour on her uterus growing in size.
Over 18 months after diagnosis, doctors decided to operate on the then two-stone tumour.
Sarah said: ''I felt incredibly heavy, but so weak.
"I never left the house because I didn't want people to ask questions.
"My daughters were really worried about my health.
"I was in constant pain, and I looked pregnant.
"I had to explain to peo
Sarah Haslam, 44, was devastated after severe fibroids left her looking nine months pregnant.
The full-time carer first noticed symptoms when she struggled with an eight-week-long period in February 2019
Her stomach then began to grow leaving friends and family assuming she was pregnant with her third child.
It took a month for her to get a diagnosis of uterine fibrosis, in March 2019. These are growths, usually non-cancerous, that appear on the uterus.
After waiting 18 months for the removal of the tumour at Oldham Hospital, Manchester, she has now had the huge mass removed.
Medics were forced to remove her whole womb in order to save her life after the tumour had seen her weight drop by seven stone going from a size 12 to a size four.
But the procedure has left her with an ''enormous'' L-shaped seven-inch scar running from her breast bone to her vagina.
Despite complications, Sarah has now returned to her normal weight and is on the road to recovery.
Sarah, from Radcliffe, Manchester, said: "I looked pregnant with a nine-month-old tumour.
"My scar looks like Frankenstein's monster.
"I can't even go swimming with my grandson.
"I still don't leave my house without people."
Sarah's ordeal began in February 2019, when she had a two-month-long period.
After a check-up with the GP and an ultrasound scan, medics found uterine fibroids commonly known as 'fibro tumours' in her uterus.
Due to their small size, she was given a coil, in March 2019, to simply reduce the bleeding they caused.
Sarah, a mother-of-three, said: "I was spending so much money on sanitary towels.
"I was wearing two or three sanitary towels at a time and buying them in bulk.
"This one time I was wearing white jeans and it looked like a murder scene.
"I felt bloated and incredibly weak.
"I couldn't leave my house, I had a puddle at my feet sometimes."
But the coil failed to prevent the bleeding and left her in "excruciating" pain.
After suffering a seizure at home, she was rushed to Oldham Hospital, Manchester, where doctors discovered the tumour was degenerating which caused sepsis and pneumonia.
Sarah, engaged to Daniel Clarke, 44, a warehouse worker, said: "After bleeding for 32 days straight, I knew something wasn't right.
"I'd never had a seizure, it was terrifying.''
Sarah spent two weeks in the hospital to prevent the infection from spreading further.
During the following nine months, she was in and out of hospital with fibroid complications and could ''literally see'' the tumour on her uterus growing in size.
Over 18 months after diagnosis, doctors decided to operate on the then two-stone tumour.
Sarah said: ''I felt incredibly heavy, but so weak.
"I never left the house because I didn't want people to ask questions.
"My daughters were really worried about my health.
"I was in constant pain, and I looked pregnant.
"I had to explain to peo
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