Ariarne Titmus recovering after having benign tumours removed from ovaries

Olympic and world champion Ariarne Titmus has revealed she’s recovering from surgery to remove two benign tumours from her ovaries.

Olympic and world champion Ariarne Titmus has revealed she’s recovering from surgery to remove two benign tumours from her ovaries.

The swimming superstar took to Instagram late on Friday to reveal the shock news, adding she’d faced one of her greatest fears of not becoming a mother but was now on the road to recovery.

Titmus discovered the 4cm growth in her right ovary after she was sent for an MRI as part of her ongoing management for a hip injury.

It was then that doctors delivered the news that rocked her to her core.

“Sometimes as an athlete you think you’re immune to real life health problems. We’re too busy keeping our body in check to perform and push ourselves day in and day out,” she wrote.

“For a while I’ve been managing an ongoing hip injury, and three weeks ago I had an MRI to suss out exactly what was going on. Sure enough, there was a little something with the hip of which is completely manageable.

Ariarne Titmus has revealed she’s recovering from surgery to remove two benign tumours from her ovaries. Picture: Richard Walker

“However, it was something else that the doctors picked up on that made everything else seem irrelevant.

“A large growth was found on my right ovary.

“For anyone that knows me, they’d know I’d give up anything in the world to be a mother, it’s my biggest dream.. so this was a scary time for me. Of course in these moments you think of the worst case scenario, and I was petrified of potentially losing the ovary or there being implications that could affect me and my desire to have children one day.

Ariarne Titmus revealed she had two tumours removed from an ovary. Picture: Instagram

“However, I am one of the lucky ones.”

Titmus underwent surgery on Thursday where two dermoids were removed, each 4cm in size.

She is now recovering and feeling well, planning to resume her training for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the coming weeks.

“Being an athlete is tough. Being a woman is tough. In the past month I’ve learnt more about my body and what it is capable of,” she said.

“I’ve learnt that being fit and healthy doesn’t mean you’re immune to these things. I feel blessed that I found these tumours before they got even bigger and started to have real implications on my health.

“Thank you to my family and those close to me for being there as support during a bit of a scary time.

“Thank you to the amazing doctors who safely got rid of my little “gremlins” and took great care of me.

“Time to rest up and recover for a couple of weeks before we go again. Love you all.”

Originally published as Ariarne Titmus recovering after having benign tumours removed from ovaries