19-Year-Old College Student Thought She Was Constipated — Doctors Later Found Massive Tumors on Both Ovaries

Elizabeth Langlais was living a normal college life in May 2026 when a persistent pain near her appendix began interfering with even the simplest parts of her day.

At first, she thought it might be appendicitis.

The pain became so severe that walking was difficult, and when it refused to go away, her roommates urged her to go to the hospital.

What followed was a months-long medical journey that began with a diagnosis of constipation and eventually led doctors to discover large tumors involving both of her ovaries.

Langlais was only 19.

Doctors initially believed she was constipated

When Langlais arrived at the hospital, she told medical staff that the pain was intense enough that she suspected something was wrong with her appendix.

She was evaluated in the pediatric wing, where a doctor examined her abdomen.

After pressing on her stomach, he suggested that constipation was probably causing the pain.

An X-ray appeared to support that conclusion.

Langlais said the scan showed that she was severely constipated.

The doctor prescribed laxative medication for the following days but also warned that some of her symptoms could potentially indicate something more.

He offered to perform an ultrasound if she stayed at the hospital, used the bathroom and then underwent additional imaging.

At the time, however, Langlais and her roommate had class the next morning.

Believing that constipation explained what she was experiencing, Langlais decided to leave and return to her normal routine.

The symptoms did not disappear.

The bloating became impossible to ignore

After the school year ended, Langlais returned home to Rhode Island.

During a routine appointment with her doctor in June, she mentioned that she was continuing to experience many of the same problems.

She had also begun noticing more frequent abdominal bloating.

Initially, she believed the bloating was another consequence of constipation.

Her doctor became concerned and ordered another X-ray before prescribing another laxative treatment.

But when Langlais returned for a follow-up appointment, her condition had visibly changed.

The bloating was no longer temporary.

It had become constant.

“My stomach was hard, and when I would lie on my back, it was lopsided,” Langlais recalled.

She could physically see that something appeared to be inside her abdomen that should not have been there.

At first, her doctor considered the possibility of an intestinal blockage.

The next step was an ultrasound.

Ultrasound revealed a mass larger than 20 centimeters

Langlais underwent the ultrasound in early July.

That was when doctors discovered a large mass believed to be on her right ovary.

It measured more than 20 centimeters.

Because of Langlais’ young age, doctors told her that the mass was less likely to be cancerous, although malignancy could not be completely ruled out.

The discovery also finally explained her persistent constipation.

The mass had grown so large that it was compressing her colon and preventing it from functioning normally.

What had initially appeared to be a digestive problem was actually being caused by a massive growth inside her abdomen.

Surgery would be necessary.

The original plan involved removing one ovary

Doctors initially prepared Langlais for an operation in which they expected to make an incision from her pelvic bone toward her belly button.

The plan was to remove the tumor along with her right ovary.

But during a preoperative abdominal examination, her surgeon noticed something concerning.

The mass felt even larger than the 20 centimeters indicated on the imaging.

Langlais said she was stunned when the doctor told her that the incision might need to extend farther upward.

Still, she tried not to focus on the possibility of a larger scar.

At that point, her priority was simply getting the tumor out.

The operation was scheduled for the following week.

Then surgeons opened her abdomen and discovered that the situation was not what anyone had expected.

Surgeons found tumors on both ovaries

Instead of finding one large tumor on the right ovary, doctors discovered a giant cystic tumor on Langlais’ left ovary.

It measured approximately 25 centimeters and was filled with fluid.

They also found a cluster of smaller solid masses on her right ovary.

That discovery immediately changed the surgical plan.

Doctors had originally obtained consent to remove one ovary.

They could not simply remove both ovaries without having discussed that possibility with Langlais beforehand.

Removing both would have profound consequences for her fertility and hormone production.

As a result, the surgeons instead worked to remove the masses while preserving both ovaries.

The large cystic tumor was removed, drained and sampled.

A pathologist examined tissue during the procedure to determine whether cancer was present.

The eventual finding was complicated.

The tumor was classified as “borderline.”

Borderline tumor carries a risk of returning

Langlais said doctors explained that she does not currently have cancer.

However, the borderline nature of the tumor means that it has the potential to recur.

According to Langlais, doctors estimated that she faces about an 80% chance of recurrence.

They did not provide her with an exact numerical probability that a future recurrence would be cancerous, but she said they told her there was significant concern.

Because both ovaries were preserved, doctors warned that ovarian disease could return.

If that happens, future surgery could involve removing one or both ovaries, particularly if a new tumor proves malignant.

That possibility led to another difficult conversation.

Doctors advised Langlais to consider freezing her eggs.

Facing fertility treatment at just 19

For Langlais, the fertility discussion was one of the most shocking parts of the entire experience.

She had gone into surgery expecting to lose one ovary.

She woke up knowing that both ovaries had been preserved — but also facing the possibility that she could become infertile in the future.

“I’m 19 years old, and I have to go through IVF,” she said, describing the situation as almost impossible to process.

The prospect of fertility preservation, hormone treatments and potential future cancer risk suddenly became part of her life before she had even entered her twenties.

Langlais said she remained stunned throughout the diagnosis and recovery period.

The information seemed to arrive all at once.

Then she had to begin healing.

Six days in the hospital

Langlais remained hospitalized for six days after surgery.

Recovery was difficult, but she gradually improved.

Because the tumor was classified as borderline rather than cancerous, she currently does not need chemotherapy.

Her medical care is now shifting toward monitoring and fertility preservation.

She is preparing to undergo fertility testing and expects to have blood work completed before meeting with specialists to determine when to begin the hormonal process associated with egg freezing.

The possibility of recurrence means she will also need continued medical surveillance.

For someone who had initially walked into a hospital believing she might have appendicitis — and was then told she was constipated — the change in circumstances has been dramatic.

TikTok helped her find others with similar experiences

More recently, Langlais began discussing her experience on TikTok.

Sharing her story introduced her to other people who had experienced similar ovarian tumors or fertility concerns.

That connection has helped her feel less isolated.

One of the strangest aspects of the experience, she says, is how quickly everything changed.

She lived with the tumor for months without knowing what was inside her.

Then suddenly it was removed.

Even the difficult recovery period now feels surprisingly brief when she looks back on it.

Still, the emotional consequences remain.

Langlais acknowledges that she sometimes thinks deeply about what may happen in the future.

She could experience another tumor.

She could eventually face cancer.

She may lose fertility.

And she is already preparing for fertility procedures that most 19-year-olds would never expect to consider.

But she tries not to allow those possibilities to dominate her life.

“I could dwell on it,” she explained, but she prefers to focus on the fact that the immediate crisis is over.

For now, she is feeling increasingly like herself again.

After months of unexplained pain, bloating and uncertainty, Langlais is recovering, beginning the next phase of her medical care and trying to move forward without allowing an uncertain future to overshadow the progress she has already made.