A girl so bloated she seemed 20 weeks pregnant truly had a cancerous ovarian cyst which grew hair and pores and skin.
Victoria Grande, 29, had been suffering with stomach ache for 10 years earlier than a CT scan revealed an 11cm cyst on her proper ovary – which had been rising for 28 years.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Girl’s cancerous cyst was rising its personal hair and pores and skin.
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She was advised the cystic teratomaa sort of germ cell tumor, was rising hair and pores and skin and he or she wanted surgical procedure to take away the cyst and cease it rising.
Victoria had the operation per week later and exams revealed it was cancerous.
Docs needed to open her up once more – and found 100 tumors rising inside her.
They identified Victoria with rising teratoma syndrome, a uncommon complication of teratoma.
Victoria had a 10-hour surgical procedure in June 2022 to take away the tumors – in addition to two items of her lung and her proper fallopian tube, proper ovary, gallbladder and appendix.
All confirmed indicators of most cancers.
She then began six rounds of chemotherapy, which triggered her to lose her hair.
Extremely, she has now been advised there isn’t any proof of the illness.
Regardless of all the pieces, Victoria stays optimistic, and has coloured her shaved hair pink, together with including just a little most cancers ribbon behind her head.
“I needed to show it into one thing enjoyable and my favourite colour is pink,” stated Victoria, a bartender, from Charlotte in North Carolina.
“I like it.”
Explaining her sickness, Victoria stated the cyst “had been rising for 28 years however so slowly it was onerous to detect”.
“Rising teratoma syndrome is so uncommon the Fb group I discovered had solely six individuals in it,” she stated.
Victoria has struggled with stomach ache all her life and was used to urinary tract infections a minimum of as soon as a month.
Docs put her ache right down to constipation, however her signs grew to become worse in March 2022 and left her “bent over in ache”.
The next month, in hospital Emergency, a CT revealed the 11cm cyst on her proper ovary.
“They advised me it was probably wrapping round my ovary and chopping off my blood provide,” she stated.
“They stated it will continue to grow until I had surgical procedure to get it out.
“The cyst was so massive it was pushing my organs up and it was like I used to be 20 weeks pregnant.”
Victoria had keyhole surgical procedure to chop the cyst up and take away it in April 2022.
“It was a very painful restoration as all my organs had been going again into place,” she stated.
A biopsy got here again as optimistic for most cancers.
She and fiancé Austin Cureton, 32, had been advised Victoria wanted surgical procedure to see if the most cancers had unfold to different areas of her physique.
Docs had been shocked to seek out 100 rising tumors once they opened her up.
She underwent a 10-hour operation in June 2022 to take away the tumors, and a month later began what would turn out to be six rounds of chemotherapy.
She is now on treatment and has a CT scan each 13 months to test the most cancers has not returned.
“I by no means advised individuals I had most cancers. As a substitute, I stated I used to be experiencing it,” she stated.
“Holding optimistic saved my life.”
Firstly of chemotherapy, Victoria had tried cold capping in an try to preserve hair, however now loves her shaved head.
“I at all times stated I needed to shave my head as soon as in my life,” she stated.
“I do not suppose I might ever actually have completed it.
“I assumed that is my solely alternative.
“I like being bald now.”
In February 2023, Victoria additionally determined to dye her hair pink.
“Having this coiffure actually helped me preserve my confidence and optimistic perspective in the direction of all this,” she stated.
She hopes to have the ability to journey as a lot as she will be able to within the subsequent few years and tries to maintain her life as regular as attainable.
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