Doctors Were Sure This Woman Was Pregnant, But She Was Actually Carrying Around a 57-Pound Cyst

Mar 27, 2019

You hear stories about it all the time. People have medical problems that go undiagnosed, sometimes for years. Sometimes these people are misdiagnosed.

Take Keely Favell. When she slowly began gaining weight, she had some mild concerns. She figured it was just normal weight gain and left it at that. Then her stomach began to grow. Keely took pregnancy tests but they all came back negative. Her stomach continued to grow.

People began asking her when her baby was due, much to her embarrassment. Things got worse when she began passing out at work. She immediately sought medical help. Her doctor first claimed that stress was causing the issue. Later, he claimed it was the medication she took for acne.

Since she hadn't taken that medication for a while, she asked for further testing. Her blood test came back negative for pregnancy. When her doctor insisted she was pregnant, she went for an ultrasound.

What they found shocked everyone. The tech administering the ultrasound immediately sounded the alarm.

Keely got a CT scan that revealed the full truth. She hadn't gained weight because she was pregnant. She'd gained weight because of a massive cyst. A specialist arranged for her to have grueling surgery.

The procedure lasted around five hours. The cyst was so large that the surgeon had to make an incision from her pelvic bone all the way to her chest. When they removed the full cyst, they found that it weighed 57 pounds! Keely recovered well.

With so much weight gone, she found it much easier to do simple everyday things. Driving and even walking around became less of a challenge. 

The cyst had been on one of Keely's ovaries. Many women with ovarian cysts have no pain at all or dismiss their discomfort as cramps. Other women have more severe pain, abdominal swelling, hair growth on the face, or irregular periods.

Most cysts go away on their own, but women should get regular health checkups to be on the safe side. 

As for Keely, she's doing well. Her ordeal won't keep her from having children in the future if she chooses.

Have you or someone you know ever struggled to get the correct diagnosis? Tell us your stories in the comments! And pass this crazy story on to your friends and loved ones - let's try to prevent this kind of false diagnosis from happening again.

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation by your doctor. Your health is important to us!