I Was Shamed by Doctors for Years — Until a Shocking Truth Was Finally Revealed

2 hours ago

I Was Shamed by Doctors for Years — Until a Shocking Truth Was Finally Revealed

A young woman says she’s been given a “second chance at life” after undergoing surgery to remove a massive 104-pound ovarian tumor filled with nearly 46 liters of fluid. According to doctors, the growth may have been developing since she first began ovulating — a condition that had silently progressed for years before being discovered.

Allison felt that during every appointment, doctors brushed off her concerns, blaming everything on her weight.

Allison Fisher had a noticeably round, protruding stomach since the fifth grade. She recalls, “Looking back at pictures from the fifth grade, I noticed something was off. Strangers often asked me if I was pregnant.” From childhood, doctors dismissed her concerns and repeatedly told her to lose weight, no matter the issue — even if it was just a cold or an ear infection. As a result, she began avoiding doctor visits altogether, even when she experienced a year-long period in 2020. “I let myself believe that if I ignored it, it would go away,” Fisher says. “I was scared. I was just really scared.”

In 2021, after seeing her mom overcome cancer, she realized that she shouldn’t ignore her own health issues anymore. She wanted to be able to look after her mom, not have her mom look after her. By this time, her stomach was “rock hard,” making it difficult to move or stand for more than five minutes. “I felt like I was pregnant with 10 kids,” she explained. “I couldn’t lay on my stomach. It felt like all my organs were being crushed,” Allison opens up. But the girl was scared to see a doctor due to the pandemic.

In November 2022, Allison finally sought medical help after the growing mass began making it difficult for her to breathe.

“I was in extreme pain that could not be fixed with medications,” she recalls this period. Dr. Martin Martino, a gynecologic oncology surgeon at Ascension St. Vincent’s, knew something was wrong when he saw her.

CT scans revealed a 104-pound tumor on Allison’s right ovary and a 12-pound mass on her left, which had twisted around itself three times. When she learned the results — confirming a massive 50 cm by 50 cm ovarian tumor — she cried tears of relief and happiness.

When Allison woke up from surgery, her first words were, “Thank you so much; you saved my life!”

Allison had many difficulties during her school years because of her weight. So she had been living life as a recluse. But now she has a lot of plans for the future, “I feel so independent now, I can wear clothes, I can see my feet, I can just exist like a person.” She’s hoping to get weight loss surgery in the next couple of months and then go to college.

Allison also gave advice to anyone afraid to visit doctors, “I want other people to know that if they’re scared of going to the doctors, you know your body best, nobody can tell you otherwise, and you just need to push for answers.”

Throughout her school years, Allison struggled with many challenges related to her weight, which led her to live a reclusive life. Now, however, she’s looking forward to the future with hope and excitement. “I feel so independent now, I can wear clothes, I can see my feet, I can just exist like a person,” she says. Allison plans to undergo weight loss surgery in the coming months and then pursue a college education.

“Now, moving forward, I am in the beginning stages of weight-loss surgery, and I am really excited for what life has in store for me,” Fisher continued.

She also shared a message for anyone hesitant to seek medical help: “I want other people to know that if they’re scared of going to the doctors, you know your body best, nobody can tell you otherwise, and you just need to push for answers.”