An American woman who was told her ovarian cancer was just bloating says women should listen to their bodies if they think something is wrong.
Catherine Saoud pleaded with doctors for two months to re-evaluate the extreme bloating, constant infections and painful cramps she was experiencing.
"I looked pregnant and my stomach felt so hard. The doctors kept telling me the pain would go away so I pushed and pushed and pushed and they finally brought me in" she told TODAY.
"One of the doctors who performed an exam on me pushed on my stomach and I screamed out in pain, saying 'That really hurts. I think something's in there."
She finally underwent an ultrasound, and the technician immediately noticed something significant.
"[The technician] said that there was a mass, but she couldn't tell what ovary it was on. She brought in another tech and then they brought in the radiologist to do his own imaging," Saoud told TODAY, "I knew that this was serious."
The 21-centimeter mass in her abdomen was discovered and diagnosed as a rare ovarian cancer.
It was a germ cell tumor, which occurs when cancer forms in the ovary's egg cells. Doctors later found her tumor had hair and bone in it.
Days later an oncologist removed the large mass, her right ovary and fallopian tube. While the tumor took up her entire pelvic cavity, the cancer hadn't spread to any organs.
"I was told that I wasn't wiping myself properly using the bathroom. I was told that it was my soap ... it felt to me that I wasn't being taken seriously" Saoud told TODAY.
She says she shares her story to remind people to be aware of their body, but knows it can be tough when constantly being dismissed.
