Doctor’s urgent plea after 'not normal' backache: 'It's scary'
A doctor is calling out “normalising pain” and urging women to not ignore their bodies after discovering a tumour was the source of her back pain.
Dr Jocelyn Fitzgerald initially brushed off the persistent lower backache she felt while sitting as nothing.
As an urogynecologist in the US, Dr Fitzgerald regularly treats pelvic organ prolapse, bladder and pelvic pain.
But her first reaction was to blame her discomfort on PMS, stress from the Covid-19 pandemic, poor posture from working at home, staff shortages or endometriosis.
It wasn’t until the pain started to intensify when she went to the bathroom that she began to consider what she would tell a patient suffering the same symptoms.
“I was like, ‘I feel like the universe is telling me to get an ultrasound’, and if I were my patient I would get one,” Ms Fitzgerald, an assistant professor in the obstetrics, gynaecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, told NBC’s Today program.
“I was like, ‘I just need to put this to rest’ and lo and behold there is, in fact, a mass.”
Doctors discover solid mass
After reading several pleas from other physicians on social media encouraging others to listen to their bodies, she finally contacted her gynaecologist and requested an ultrasound.
The scan uncovered a concerning 7 centimetre mass in her body.
“It was on the big side and it did have some features that showed it needed to come out. They were not reassuring. It was vascular. It was partially solid,” she explained to NBC.
“No one could say, ‘Oh this is definitely benign’.”
She then underwent surgery to remove the mass in the same operating room she often conducts procedures in.
“How did I feel having surgery as a pelvic surgeon? It’s scary. I know a lot. I knew exactly what would be happening,” she said.
Her surgeon cut out what’s known as a cystadenofibroma, a rare but benign ovarian tumour that can mimic the appearance of a malignant tumour.
Dr Fitzgerald said learning the mass wasn’t cancerous was “the best day of her life”.
Important lesson for women
While recovering and reflecting on her experience, the doctor took to Twitter to remind others to always seek help.
“In the end, trust your body,” she wrote. “Get the ultrasound.”
Fitzgerald told NBC she has gained valuable insight into the experience of her patients.
“Women, in particular, people in the community, equate getting a hysterectomy or some type of gynaecological procedure with getting a tooth pulled,” she said.
In the end, trust your body, get the ultrasound, support women's health research. I love and appreciate you all! The future of women's health is bright if we just keep fighting for it. 🤍, Dr. Fitzgerald
— Jocelyn J. Fitzgerald MD, FACOG (@jfitzgeraldMD) November 30, 2021
“Having pelvic surgery is major, major surgery. The reason that it’s been minimised culturally is because it’s so common because so many women need pelvic and gynaecological surgery.”
She also reinforced how prevalent it is for women to ignore their bodies.
“We have normalised our own pain so much and we are so worried about inconveniencing others with our pain and our needs. I think that is a very big component as to why female disease is discovered later,” she said.
“There are many specialists who can decipher what’s going on and improve your quality of life — you do deserve to feel better.”
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