A woman is opening up about undergoing an unnecessary hysterectomy after doctors mistakenly told her she had ovarian cancer.
In September 2024, Rhian Butlin went to the doctor dealing with “excruciating” abdominal pain. The 32-year-old said a scan came back clear and her symptoms were initially “dismissed” as PCOS, or polycystic ovary syndrome, the Daily Mailreports.
However, she was rushed to the hospital two months later when the pain persisted. Butlin’s stomach also started swelling so much that she appeared nine months pregnant. Once hospitalized, a second scan revealed that Butlin had a 25cm tumor on one of her ovaries, which needed to be surgically removed.
Butlin — who works as a dental nurse — underwent a full hysterectomy in December. She also had her appendix and the lining of her bowel removed after they showed signs of swelling. The mom of two had biopsies done on all three organs during the major procedure.
Butlin’s surgery and recovery was difficult. She suffered from a buildup of fluid as well as sepsis, and was put into a medically induced coma at one point.
“We were told our little sister possibly wouldn’t make it through the night,” her older sister, Lindsey Rice, said in a GoFundMe post. “Our world fell apart.”
“Thankfully Rhian pulled through…she was sent home to recover,” she added.
But when Butlin’s biopsy results came back, no cancer was found in any of the body parts they removed. Doctors believed she had endometriosis, which can sometimes mimic cancer on scans.
“She didn’t have cancer after all,” Rice said. “Can you believe how happy we all were. We cried, jumped for joy. The nightmare was over.”
Despite the exciting news, Butlin’s symptoms soon returned. She went back to her doctor for answers.
“They said, ‘We are so sorry, we have gone through your notes and you did actually have cancer. But it was in your appendix and it is one of the rarest forms of cancer,’” Rice recalled to the DM.
Although Butlin’s appendix had been removed during surgery, the disease had already spread to her pelvis and lymph nodes. Doctors said her cancer was now stage 4 and “incurable.”
“I’m just emotionally drained. I’m constantly scared and some nights I barely sleep,” Butlin told the outlet. “It’s just been a very scary journey, if I’m honest. Obviously, I’ve had a full hysterectomy when I did not need to.”
“I’ve had my ovaries removed when I did not have ovarian cancer and I’ve had the lining of my bowel removed when I did not have bowel cancer.” she continued. “Then they did remove my appendix in December but it wasn’t until months later that they found cancer there.”
Now, more than six months after first complaining of stomach pain, Butlin started her first three-month course of intensive chemotherapy on April 8. Bultin’s older sister expressed her disappointment with how doctors have handled her care.
Culled from People
