Teacher, 25, shamed by friends after throwing a baby shower for her 4.7kilo ovarian cyst
A kindergarten teacher who “hosted a baby shower” for her 10-pound ovarian cyst claims her friends and family were shocked by the brutal event.
Raquel Rodriguez, 25, explained that the cyst had grown so large that many people, including close friends and family, thought she was pregnant.
So before she had it removed, she took the time to throw a party and even schedule a maternity shoot.
Raquel explained that she had been “pregnant” with her cyst for five years.
It was discovered after she went to the doctor with bloating and abdominal pain.
Scans showed she had an 8-cm cyst β or fluid-filled sac β on her ovary, about the size of a softball, but doctors said it didn’t need to be removed.
However, it continued to grow and eventually grew so large that the kindergarten teacher appeared to be ‘pregnant’. Friends even started asking her why she hadn’t told them she was “with child.”
Despite being in pain and begging doctors to take it out, Raquel managed to accept her health issues with good humor by holding a “maternity shoot” in front of her belly.
Raquel Rodriguez, 25, hosted a baby shower to celebrate the removal of her 10 lb (4.7 kg) ovarian cyst
The 25-year-old went to the doctor five years ago because of abdominal pain and bloating, but didn’t get the cyst removed – so she had a ‘maternity shoot’ instead
And before she underwent a two-hour surgery to remove the cyst in July, Raquel threw a party to celebrate the “birth” of the cyst β which she nicknamed “Cystiana.”
Raquel from Minnesota posted a clip to TikTok showing her banners, cupcakes and typical baby shower games.
At first glance, the photos from the party look like a typical baby shower, but no one who attended was pregnant.
‘My friends [are] telling me it’s wrong to keep sending baby shower invites for my ovarian cyst,” she wrote.
“Okay, well, that’s you,” she told her friends.
The cyst continued to grow and eventually grew so large that the kindergarten teacher appeared to be ‘pregnant’. She has been pictured doing a “maternity shoot.”
‘But on the other hand, me? I’ll show up.’
Her videos quickly gained thousands of views, with many making jokes about her “pregnancy.”
‘Is it a boy or a girl? It’s an ovarian cyst!’ one follower wrote.
Others said she should be jailed for “drinking while pregnant” in bars, while another woman explained she had a 16kg cyst she used for proper parking.
“Who doesn’t think this is hilarious?” added one more.
Raquel is pictured above after surgery to remove the ovarian cyst. Four weeks later, she says she’s fine
“I think it’s a healthy, hilarious way to know you’re about to go under the knife to have it removed.” Team sport for me,β one wrote.
“This is fucking hilarious and good for you for finding humor in this situation!” noted one TikTok user.
While another even said they were ‘crazy they hadn’t thought of it themselves’ before the surgery.
Revealing the story on TikTok, Rachel said the tumor grew to 11 inches in diameter β the top size for ovarian cysts.
She said that during the surgery, her right ovary and fallopian tube – where the cyst was – had to be removed, but her left is still intact.
It wasn’t clear what caused the cyst, but Raquel said it may have been due to a urinary tract infection and sepsis she suffered from in 2017.
Ovarian cysts are when a fluid-filled sac forms on the side of the ovaries, often during ovulation, when an egg is released.
They can also be caused by infections in the pelvic area, hormonal problems, and endometriosis — when tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside of it.
Doctors say ovarian cysts are generally “very common” and normally go away without causing any symptoms.
But some types β like the mucous cyst Raquel had β don’t go away and can get bigger if they’re not removed.
Symptoms of the condition include bloating, swelling, and pain in the lower abdomen. In cases where they rupture, they can also cause severe pain.
Most women diagnosed with ovarian cysts are offered pain medications and prescribed hormonal pills to help regulate ovulation.
But those with more severe forms of the condition will be offered surgery to remove them.
Raquel described being rejected by doctors for surgery, saying she explained to a male doctor that she was in “excruciating pain.”
She added: “He happened to be a man and he told me that the pain I was having was probably due to my partner being ‘too big’ and that I should have ‘shallower sex.’
Other medics told her that the pain was probably due to cramping or bloating, and that it was nothing to worry about.
Raquel said that even when the cyst was spotted, the doctors weren’t too concerned and sent her home.
Dr. Taraneh Shirazian, the director of the Fibroid Care Center at NYU Langone Health in New York City, told TODAY they should have operated when they found the cyst.
“Mucous cysts don’t resolve on their own like regular cysts that typically come and go with a woman’s menstrual cycle,” she said.
Raquel, 25 and from Minnesota, went to doctors about the problem five years ago and said she also had sudden attacks of pain. She is pictured (left) before surgery and (right) after surgery
The ovarian cyst eventually grew to 11 inches in diameter and could hold as much as a gallon of fluid, equivalent to seven Gatorade bottles
“They just hang out on the ovary and stay the same size, or they can grow — and they grow quite quickly.”
Shirazian said doctors should be concerned if they are larger than 5 cm, but when Raquel was diagnosed, it was already 8 cm.
Raquel said she normally has an “athletic” build and is quite “short.”
But around her 24th birthday β after being rejected by doctors β relatives noticed she started to look more bloated.
Describing when the cyst got quite big, she told TODAY, “I looked and felt pregnant.
βI had shortness of breath and was bloated and peeing all the time. People asked me, ‘when is your due date?’ I had friends say, ‘I didn’t know you were pregnant! Why didn’t you tell me?’.’
I’m laughing now, but it’s not really funny,’ she said. “My hair was falling out, I was in excruciating pain, and I was losing weight without trying.”
Raquel had the tumor removed in a two-hour procedure in Minnesota and was discharged a week later. The next day she went shopping
