WHEN Tamsyn Gerrits woke up one morning with a swollen belly, she assumed it was just bloating.
But what started as mild discomfort quickly turned into a terrifying ordeal that would change the 28-year-old’s life forever.
At first, Tamsyn looked like she was about four of five months – but she wasn’t.
She also thought it didn’t feel like regular .
“Every morning, my stomach looked round and hard. Not soft or squishy like normal bloating. I just knew something wasn’t right,”; she said.
Tamsyn, whose son Elan is only a year old, had ultrasounds but doctors struggled to pinpoint the problem.
“All they could see was a large fluid-filled mass pressing on my bladder,”; she said.
“They weren’t sure if it was a cyst, a , or something else entirely.”;
They also made her take five tests – all of which came back negative.
“I knew it wasn’t a baby, but it was frustrating having to constantly prove it,”; she added.
Then, over Easter weekend, Tamsyn’s condition took a dramatic turn for the worse.
At 4am she was woken by a sharp, shooting pain in her lower back and left abdomen.
“It felt like cold metal scraping the inside of my body. I was nauseous and scared,”; she said.
“It was a public holiday and my medical aid wouldn’t approve a scan or surgery. No one answered their phones. I was lying there in pain, knowing something was growing inside me, and I couldn’t do a thing about it.”;
Eventually a gynaecologist examined her and made a chilling discovery, an growing very rapidly.
“I went in on Friday, and the mass was 12cm. By Monday, it was 17cm. That’s how fast it grew,”; Tamsyn, from Cape Town, , said.
“The doctor said we had to operate immediately or I could lose my ovary.”;
‘Extremely lucky’
Surgeons found a massive dermoid cyst – a type of tumour that can contain tissue like , skin, and even .
“It was right on the verge of bursting,”; Tamsyn said.
“In fact, it did burst the moment they removed it.
“This was extremely lucky, because if it had burst inside my body, I likely would have progressed straight to Stage 3 or 4 . The fact that it was intact when removed played a crucial role in catching it early.”;
Doctors were able to save her ovary and used her C-section scar to minimise additional scarring. But the real shock came days later, when her biopsy results confirmed the tumour was Grade 2 – high-grade and cancerous.
“I went numb,”; Tamsyn admitted.
You never think it’s going to be you...especially when you’re young and healthy, and have a child to raise
Tamsyn Gerrits
“You never think it’s going to be you. Especially when your blood work was all clear.
“Especially when you’re young and healthy, and have a child to raise.”;
Tamsyn has had aggressive , which has left her physically and emotionally drained.
“I gained 1st 8lbs (10 kilos) in just five days from all the steroids, fluids, and hormones they pumped into me,”; she said.
“Then I dropped 1st 12lbs (12kg) in a weekend. My body didn’t recognise itself. I didn’t recognise myself.
“My hair started falling out in clumps by day 16. So I decided to take back some control and shaved it all off. A bold chop. My way of saying: ‘You don’t get to take this from me too.’”;
‘This is a rollercoaster’
Just as Tamsyn began to find a rhythm in her treatment regime, she was rushed to hospital with an infected chemo port and dangerously low white blood cells.
“My body was shaking uncontrollably. I was freezing, nauseous, and scared. The infection was winning because my immune system was too weak to fight it,”; she said.
Doctors paused her chemo and began IV antibiotics, plus painful injections to stimulate her bone marrow.
“I’ve been told I’ll probably be in hospital for another 10 days,”; she says.
“It feels excessive, but they want to be sure I’m strong enough to continue treatment.”;
Despite it all, Tamsyn remains defiant.
“This is a rollercoaster, but I’m holding on,”; she said.
“I’m grateful we caught it early. I’m grateful for my support system – my husband, Jaco, who’s my best friend, and our beautiful one-year-old son, Elan, who gives me a reason to keep going.”;
She hopes her story will encourage other women to trust their instincts.
“We’re told we’re overreacting, being dramatic, or hormonal. But if your body is screaming that something is wrong, listen. There are no medals for being tough,”; she said.
Tamsyn, an entrepreneur and beauty queen who is a former Miss South Africa Top 5 finalist, shares her experiences on social media @‌tamsyn_gerrits and through her own marketing agency Jane Doe Media.
“I’ve been discharged from hospital, and my body has miraculously and thankfully managed to overcome the infection,”; she said.
“I’m scheduled to resume chemotherapy – just two more rounds to go.
“I’m not hiding. This is part of my life now. And if I can help one woman avoid being dismissed, if I can make one mum feel seen – then it’s worth every post, every chemo drip, every tear.”;
