Doctors remove 50-pound watermelon-sized ovarian cyst from Alabama woman

Alabama woman, Kayla Rahn underwent a surgery in late May to remove her ovary and the 50-pound cyst - the biggest one her surgeon said he had ever extracted.

She had been gaining weight that  seemed impossible to lose. People would ask whether she was pregnant. She was also struggling with abdominal pain, swelling and shortness of breath.

"I used to tell them I was going to name it Taco Bell," the 30-year-old told The Washington Post about the jokes she used to make in response to all the awkward pregnancy questions.

A watermelon-sized cyst was growing inside her ovary and squishing her other organs - a potentially dangerous situation, her physicians said.

Officials at Jackson Hospital in Montgomery, Alabama, announced the surgery in a news release this week and said Rahn had a mucinous cystadenoma, a benign cystic tumor in the ovary. Since it was removed, Rahn said she has lost 75 pounds - and her surgeon said they are "excited things went well for her."

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"It wasn't a fun surgery, and there were moments I was in pain," Rahn said Friday. "But I had such an awesome support system, I didn't have a chance to be worried about anything."

Physicians discovered an enormous mass in her abdomen, later telling her it was in one of her ovaries - and that they needed to get it out right away.

"I remember crying every time we talked about it," she said.

"She knew something was wrong," said Jones, one of Rahn's surgeons. "What was interesting is that she never had the shock and awe; she had this relief, like, 'Of course there's a mass.'"

Rahn - mostly reassured but still concerned - was wheeled into an operating room at the hospital the next day, May 26, she said.

Ovarian cysts are common and usually harmless. Many women never even know they have them because the cysts come and go without causing problems, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Rahn has a message for others: Listen to your body and advocate for yourself. It's important, she said, for people to press for answers concerning their medical problems.