A woman who had a fibroid “the size of a mango” removed from her uterus felt she had no choice but to go private after suffering for years while on NHS waiting lists.
Chloe Keys, 26, has had Polyendocrine Metabolic Ovarian Syndrome (PMOS) since puberty, but in 2022 found out she had large uterine fibroids.
The non-cancerous growths left her with severely heavy periods which would cause regular haemorrhaging every month, excruciating stomach pains, heavy clotting, lethargy, low mood and severe bloating.
The senior digital PR strategist from Belfast described leaving a “trail of blood around the city” when she started her period on holiday in Seville.
For this reason, she typically cannot leave the house for two weeks at a time when she is on her period.
The Manchester resident spoke to The Independent just four weeks post-surgery. “I would be a shell of a human being for half the month during my period,” she said.
“My stomach was distended, my fibroid was measuring the size of a large mango before surgery. It was extremely painful.
“I was housebound, severely anaemic, heavily depressed. No one was listening, no one was taking it seriously. I was left no choice but to go private to have surgery. Being on the beck and call of NHS gynaecology is a life prison sentence.”
Ms Keys decided “enough was enough” in February this year after she sat in the waiting room of the hospital for an appointment with her consultant for so long the lights went out.
She said she “collapsed into the nurse’s arms and sobbed” when she found out the consultant had left. “I waited nine months for this appointment, and they cancelled it while I was sat there in the waiting room,” Ms Keys said.
She also felt her consultant was strongly encouraging her to take Ryeqo, an oral treatment to shrink the fibroids. However, a side effect is that you can enter medical menopause while on this treatment.
Because Ms Keys did not want to be put in a state of medical menopause in her early twenties, she asked for alternative therapies, such as surgery. However, she claimed she was made to feel she was taking the “more difficult route”.
In a recent poll conducted by women’s health platform Hertility, more than 90 per cent of respondents said they felt concerns about their reproductive or hormonal health symptoms were not taken seriously by a healthcare professional. Some 83 per cent said they were not taken seriously multiple times.
Deirdre O’Neill, co-founder of Hertility, said: “Hertility was founded because too many women have lost trust in a system that too often asks them to wait, wait for symptoms to worsen, wait for referrals, wait for answers. We believe women deserve better.
“Healthcare should be preventative, personalised and precision-led, giving women trusted, evidence-based insights and timely clinical support before small concerns become lifelong conditions.”
The PR worker said having a women’s health condition has felt like a “dirty little secret” which has “dominated” her entire corporate career.
Ms Keys described sitting in senior presentations and bleeding through her clothes after haemorrhaging on her heavy periods, but rather than excusing herself, she stayed because she was worried about how she would be perceived.
“I’m sick of having to leave your health conditions at the door,” she said.
“It’s taboo in the corporate world. I haven’t wanted to speak up about being on my period because I’m worried about coming across as too dramatic or hormonal.”
She said she has to work from home the majority of the time, which she feels has put her at a disadvantage in her career progression.
According to Hertility’s 2026 Workplace Report, two in three female employees who were told their fatigue and anxiety are “just part of life” received a new clinical diagnosis.
Some 64 per cent of female employees were logging an average of five concurrent symptoms each, ranging from fatigue and anxiety to pain, brain fog and low mood. The diagnoses ranged from PMOS to thyroid disorders and pelvic issues.
Ms Keys is now advocating for external educators to be brought into companies to train managers on how to support employees battling women’s health issues.
A spokesperson for Manchester University Foundation Trust said: “We sincerely apologise to Ms Keys for the rescheduling of some of her appointments and the short notice cancellation she experienced. We fully understand the frustration this has caused.
“We appreciate patients’ frustrations at waiting lists for some treatments and surgery and we continually review our waiting lists and treat all our patients in order of clinical priority. We welcome Ms Keys to contact us directly if she wishes to further discuss any concerns.”
Eight in 10 patients will be seen for treatment at Manchester University Foundation Trust for gynaecology within 46 weeks, according to the NHS.
There are currently more than 7 million people nationally on the elective waiting list for non-emergency procedures, but this needs to be slashed over the next few years to hit the government target of 92 per cent of patients waiting no longer than 18 weeks for treatment.
Fibroids Awareness Month is observed throughout July to raise awareness of uterine fibroids. You can find out more here.