Ealasaid's Cyst

The facts in brief:
Dermoid Ovarian Cyst: basically, a lump of tissue formed when an egg goes nuts and starts dividing without having been fertilized. Often contains hair, various glands, liquids such as sweat, teeth, and various kinds of tissue.

In August 2002, during a routine physical, my doctor diagnosed me with possible fibroid tumors and sent me to a gynaecologist. After several tests and a brief span when we thought it might be cancer, I was diagnosed as having a dermoid ovarian cyst approximately 15 cm across attached to my left ovary. He could tell it was a dermoid cyst, as the abdominal x-ray showed teeth inside it.

Now, before you ask why I didn't notice such a freakin' huge thing inside me, the answer is that I'd recently shed about 20 lbs and had no idea that my gut wasn't supposed to feel that way sans its layer of pudgyness.

Anyway. A surgery date was set for the end of October, as that was the earliest possible date. My doc warned me about Torsion (a nasty condition where your innards get twisted up and start to die off - it's apparently the most insanely painful thing you can possibly imagine) and said otherwise I would be fine.

Since I found the web primarily contained scientific and generally uninteresting information about my condition, I thought I'd do my part to present a more personable site about dermoid ovarian cysts. Hope you ... um ... like it?