‘After bleeding on a restaurant floor I finally found out the real cause of my extreme periods’
A woman who experienced extreme periods so heavy she once passed a hand sized blood clot has revealed how she has been diagnosed with a rare tumour.
Sarah White, 25, a recruitment consultant from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, has always suffered from heavy periods, but became concerned when she bled onto a restaurant floor in April 2023.
Four months later, an ultrasound revealed she had an 8cm benign mass in her uterus and would need surgery.
But by January 2024, Sarah's uterus had expanded to almost three times the size and the mass had grown to 13cm.
While doctors initially believed the tumour was benign, during a three-hour operation to remove it they discovered it was actually a rare cancer.
She is now having a hysterectomy alongside the removal of her ovaries, which has impacted her dreams of becoming a mum.
Recalling her experiences of living with extreme periods White says: "I had to put my whole life on hold.
"Within half an hour of putting in a tampon, it was pushed out by the amount of blood.
"I'd bleed through onto chairs, bed sheets and my clothes.
"I'm relieved to finally have a diagnosis, but it kills me that I now won't carry a baby."
White had experienced "extremely heavy" periods from the age of 14, and was given medication from her GP to ease the pain.
While this did have some impact on managing her symptoms, she still missed out on "a lot" of school and spending time with her friends.
"My periods were always painful from a young age," she explains.
"I assumed I was just unlucky, and it would get easier.
"But as I got older, the bleeding got heavier and I leaked through everything."
After passing a "huge" clot in April 2023, she knew something wasn't right.
"My partner, Ryan, 30, and I went out for a meal with his family," she recalls of the incident.
"As we were finishing, I felt sharp stabbing pains in my stomach.
"After everyone had left, I got up and my trousers were soaked through - I could see the blood trickle onto the floor.
"When I got home I went to the toilet and saw that my tampon has been pushed out.
"Moments later, a clot the size of my hand fell onto the floor."
After calling 999 and getting the all clear from paramedics, White was advised to see her GP, who referred her for an ultrasound in August 2023.
The scan revealed a mass in her uterus which was diagnosed as an 8cm benign fibroid - a non-cancerous growth - one month later.
She was then sent for an MRI at OSD healthcare, Hemel Hempstead, to further investigate.
Doctors confirmed she would need surgery to remove the fibroid but, while waiting for a date, White began fainting from severe blood loss.
"I called 111 a lot while I was waiting [for surgery] because everything got progressively worse," she explains.
"I was losing so much blood, my face was swelled and I could barely walk.
"My periods went from 7, to 10, to 21 days - it was awful.
"I had an emergency ultrasound on 22 January early this year and my uterus was the size of someone 24 weeks pregnant," she continues.
Medics couldn't see my right ovary because this mass was covering it.
"But it had grown to 13cm."
White was given an open myomectomy - a procedure that allows surgeons to remove uterine fibroids - on 14 February 2024 at Watford General Hospital, Hertfordshire.
But the mass looked "unusual" so it was sent off for testing, and later that month she was diagnosed with a low grade endometrial stromal sarcoma - a rare cancerous tumour.
"After my surgery, my periods started to ease, so when doctors said I had tumour I froze in shock," she says of her cancer diagnosis.
"No one knew if it was all gone and I feared the worst."
Three weeks later, White went for a post-op CT scan at Hemel Hempstead Hospital which showed she had an enlarged lymph node in her abdomen and would need a full hysterectomy and removal of her ovaries.
"I found out I still had cancer in my uterus and an enlarged lymph node," she says.
"I was devastated.
"Although the lymph node has returned to normal size, my cancer is hormonal so I'm at high risk if I don't have the surgery.
"I'm not ready to have a baby now, but I'm heartbroken that I won't ever get to."
White now wants to encourage other women to "push" for answers when something doesn't feel right.
"I didn't think heavy periods would lead to a cancer diagnosis, but I'm so proud of myself for not sitting back," she says.
"If you feel that something isn't right, please don't settle."
Additional reporting SWNS.
Read more about periods
'Everyone deserves a bloody good period, a basic right still not granted' (Yahoo Life UK, 9-min read)
More than a million women keep period sick days a secret (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)
'I have two uteruses and bled through 30 pads a day' (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
