Search Here

Maria Christofi, 42, from North London, appeared pregnant for a decade and was diagnosed with a fibroid, a benign tumor in the womb. The tumor was 17cm long and she recently has had it removed.

Maria was diagnosed in 2007 and was offered surgery before her fibroid was just 5cm long. But she opted for alternative medicines.

She attempted to treat her fibroid naturally without surgery. She tried herbal medicines, acupuncture, changing her diet and exercises in breathing and movement. The fibroid gave her minimal pain, but she managed to have normal periods. She battled the physical effect of fibroid that has worsened since 2014.

According to Mirror, doctors tried to shrink the tumor through laser treatment called MRI-guided percutaneous laser ablation. They did it three times before she decided to undergo surgery.

The fibroid continued to grow. By summer 2016 the tumor was huge, it measured 17cm long, making her look 28 weeks pregnant. According to Daily Mail, strangers assumed she was pregnant. Maria, an acupuncturist, was often asked when she was due, and to avoid embarrassment she made up a due date.

She finally made the decision to undergo surgery last month. The surgery was performed by doctors at Parkside Hospital, in Wimbledon.

She avoided taking any hormone treatment to make the tumor easier to remove. Both the large tumor and the smaller ones that scattered in her womb were finally removed.

After the large mass was removed, Maria was stunned when she was shown a photo of the tumor. She said looking at the photo of her fibroid was surreal. "I never imagined it would actually be so large." The tumor weighed almost six pounds.

Maria added "I wish I'd had my pregnancy bump removed through surgery a long time ago but I'm so relieved it's over."