Newtown woman Dee Chisholm battles mysterious tumour

A large and mysterious tumour means a 35-year-old woman struggles to walk.

Newtown's Dee Chisholm is battling a large mystery tumour.

A large, mysterious tumour on Dee Chisholm’s lower body means she struggles to walk and is prone to collapsing.

The Newtown 35-year-old went to her GP in early November after experiencing swelling on her left buttocks.

“I was having lower back pain and I had pins and needles down my left leg,” she said.

After blood tests and a CT scan, her doctor called and told her to “get to the hospital right now”.

Ms Chisholm spent three days in Geelong hospital and doctors believed she had an abscess.

On the third day, an MRI found a large tumour on Ms Chisholm’s buttocks.

“It was quite a shock and it took a while to process,” she said.

At the time, the tumour was more than 14cm long.

“They liken it to a 20-week-old (foetus),” she said.

“It is rapidly growing and it’s grown since then.”

Doctors believed Ms Chisholm was a battling a sarcoma and was referred to St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne.

She underwent blood tests, a full body PET scan and her first biopsy in early January but the results were inconclusive.

Ms Chisholm’s specialist got a team of surgeons together to discuss her “complex case” and try to determine the type of tumour.

It is not yet know if it’s cancerous.

“The good news was there was no cancer in the rest of my body,” she said.

Ms Chisholm underwent another biopsy on January 29, which she hopes will give her more answers.

She experiences sharp pain down her leg and struggles to walk, leading her to collapse.

She will undergo extensive surgery at a yet-to-be-confirmed date to remove the tumour, which is pressing on some of her organs.

“Most likely they will need to open up my glute to get the tumour out because it is so big,” she said.

“They need a team of surgeons who specialise in different organs who will take over each other throughout the surgery.”

Ms Chisholm was planning to start a remedial massage business.

Ms Chisholm, who has owned a cleaning business for seven years, finished studying remedial massage in 2022 and was planning a career change when she discovered the tumour.

“I used all my savings and bought an electric massage table because I was just about to start my remedial massage business,” she said.

A Go Fund Me page has been established to help Ms Chisholm with medical costs and daily expenses as she is unable to work while undergoing treatment.

Originally published as Newtown woman Dee Chisholm battles mysterious tumour