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Doctors thought my hot flashes and weight loss were menopause... then I was diagnosed with a rare tumor
A woman who was told her 10lb weight loss and hot flashes were down to the menopause was shocked to discover she actually had a rare tumor.
The healthy 47-year-old revealed her symptoms to doctors in Maryland during an annual check-up, and was prescribed hormone therapy.
But six months later she was rushed to the ER with chest pain and shortness of breath, with doctors diagnosing her with a heart condition and discharging her with medications.
When she returned again a month later with pneumonia, she was sent away with a new medication. But then, when she came back four days later struggling to breathe, they finally ordered a CT scan — which 'incidentally' revealed the 'mass' in her chest.
It was on her left adrenal gland, which manufactures hormones for her body, and was about the length of two golf balls — leading to a diagnosis of pheochromocytoma.
Surgery was carried out two weeks later to remove the tumor and the left adrenal gland, with the woman making a full recovery.
A 47-year-old woman revealed her symptoms to doctors in Maryland during a routine medical check-up (stock image)
Revealing the case in the American Journal of Medical Case Reports, the team from the University of Maryland, said: 'Given the patient’s age, initial symptoms of flushing... her case was mistaken for menopausal symptoms.
'Her new onset of chest pain and palpitations then led to an exhaustive investigation for cardiac causes.'
They added: '[But] after being hospitalized for pneumonia, her pheochromocytoma was finally incidentally discovered on abdominal CT.'
The doctors said they were revealing the case in the hopes of helping others to diagnose the condition more rapidly and to highlight the range of symptoms the condition can cause.
Pheochromocytoma is rare, suffered by about 100 patients a year, and is diagnosed when a non-cancerous tumor grows in one of the two adrenal glands in the body.
It is often difficult to diagnose because it triggers a broad range of differing symptoms, which can be associated with a range of other conditions — including menopause.
Typical symptoms include headaches, sweating and heart palpitations — but studies show only 17 percent of patients have these. Other signs include anxiety, high blood pressure, abdominal pain, nausea and weaknesses.
The condition can also cause heart problems because it can cause the adrenal glands to manufacture excessive amounts of adrenaline — stimulating the heart to beat faster.
It is normally diagnosed using scans of the adrenal glands, with any masses that are found removed during surgery.
If it is not treat, there is a risk it can cause permanent damage to the heart muscle — leading to complications such as an arrhythmia, or irregular heart beat, and heart disease. In serious cases, the condition can also cause heart failure.
At her annual check-up, the woman said her last period was in 2021 and blood work also found she had low levels of a female sex hormone which indicated the menopause.
But she was also on oral contraceptives, which can stop periods from taking place. In general, the menopause happens at age 51 years — but can start at 45 years old.
When she was first admitted to the ER six months later, she had tachycardia, or a heart beating faster than 100 beats per minute, and was rushed through for tests to diagnose heart disease.
These included a coronary angiography, an X-ray of the arteries, and a left heart catheterization, where a tube is inserted into the left side of the heart to help diagnose any complications.
This led to a diagnosis of myopericarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle and sac around the heart and she was prescribed drugs to treat the condition.
But when she returned to the ER again one month later and again four days after, this led to the scan that diagnosed her condition.