Woman's 'Pregnancy' Turns Out to Be Deadly Tumor

Doctors misdiagnosed it because of the hormones it put off
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 11, 2016 6:44 PM CST
Woman's 'Pregnancy' Turns Out to Be Deadly Tumor
Demi Wright   (JustGiving)

A 22-year-old British woman died last month after doctor's initially mistook a nearly 5-inch tumor for her being pregnant, the Huffington Post UK reports. Makeup artist Demi Wright started feeling pain in her side last November. When she went to the doctor, they admitted her to a maternity ward due to the presence of hormones similar to those in pregnant women, according to the Gazette-News. What Wright actually had was a molar pregnancy. As an expert explains to HuffPo: "Initially, a molar pregnancy acts in the same way as a conventional pregnancy, tests are positive due to the release of the HDG hormone and there is a growth in the uterus. It is only when the patient comes for their 12-week scan that a molar pregnancy is detected."

Doctors found the tumor, discovered their mistake, and transferred Wright out of the maternity ward. She died three weeks after being diagnosed with terminal adenocarcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer that had spread throughout her body. Molar pregnancies only rarely turn into cancer, and it seems Wright was one of the unlucky few. Her family says they are "devastated" to lose the woman they remember as "bubbly, positive, and cheerful." "When we found out the cancer was terminal…she gave me a big hug and said: 'It's going to be OK,'" her father tells the Gazette-News. "The next day, she passed away." A fundraising page set up in Wright's memory is currently raising money for cancer research. (Your favorite breakfast foods could be increasing your risk of cancer.)

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