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I was struggling with infertility — then brain surgery helped me get pregnant

Nypost · 🇺🇸 public United States · · 926 words · By McKenzie Beard
Patient Advocacy Infertility Struggles Medical Triumph
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What to know about Patient Advocacy

I was struggling with infertility — then brain surgery helped me get pregnant See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 8
Techniques found 2
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

I was struggling with infertility — then brain surgery helped me get pregnant See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on GoogleLisa Fasone desperately wanted to give her daughter a little brother or sister.

Common ground

But when she and boyfriend, Larry Brastad, started trying, they joined the millions of Americans battling infertility.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Appeal to Pity: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/06/03/health/brain-surgery-helped-me-overcome-my-inferti…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 70% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Appeal to Pity 60% confidence
Evoking sympathy to win support rather than using logical arguments.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to pity helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 3
verified Verified By Reference 2
verified Verified 2
help Insufficient Evidence 1
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Claim 1: “doctors found her prolactin levels were elevated.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent web search results (news/articles) explicitly state that bloodwork revealed Lisa Fasone had elevated prolactin levels.
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 1, 2026 ... Bloodwork revealed her prolactin – the hormone produced by the pituitary gland that stimulates lactation and influences fertility – levels were ...
https://news.nm.org/after-a-tumor-disrupts-an-illinois-woman…
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 1, 2026 ... Bloodwork found that Fasone was experiencing elevated levels of prolactin, the hormone secreted by the pituitary gland that stimulates ...
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/chicago-area-woman-give…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 1, 2026 ... Fasone's nurse practitioner ran bloodwork and discovered that Fasone's prolactin levels were high. Prolactin is the hormone responsible for ...
https://people.com/mom-tumor-brain-couldnt-get-pregnant-1198…
help
Claim 2: “women are far more likely to be affected [by prolactinomas] than men.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided or found in the search results to confirm or deny the gender distribution of prolactinomas.
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Claim 3: “On April 14 of last year, she went under Magill’s care as he and Northwestern Medicine otolaryngologist Dr. Kevin Welch removed the tumor, gaining access to her brain through her nose.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that on April 14, Lisa Fasone underwent surgery with Dr. Magill and Dr. Kevin Welch of Northwestern Medicine to remove a tumor.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — April 12 is the 102nd day of the year (103rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 263 days remain until the end of the year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_12
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following events happened in April 1980:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_1980
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Cillian Murphy is an Irish actor who has had an extensive career in film, television and stage. Murphy made his professional debut in playwright Enda Walsh's 1996 play Disco Pigs, a role he later repr…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cillian_Murphy_on_stage_and_sc…
+ 1 more evidence source
verified
Claim 4: “In the US, about 1 in 10,000 people will develop one, according to the Pituitary Society.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of dictionary definitions of the word 'according' and general Wikipedia entries on hormones, but no specific statistic from the Pituitary Society regarding the 1 in 10,000 prevalence rate.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Endocrinology (from endocrine + -ology) is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrinology
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Prolactin (PRL), also known as lactotropin and mammotropin, is a protein best known for its role in enabling mammals to produce milk. It is influential in over 300 separate processes in various verteb…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolactin
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Adrenocorticotropic hormone is used as a medication and as diagnostic agent in the ACTH stimulation test. The form that is purified from pig pituitary glands is known as corticotropin is a medication …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenocorticotropic_hormone_(m…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 5: “Lisa Fasone, a 32-year-old woman from McHenry, Ill., is a urology physician assistant in the Chicago area.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm Lisa Fasone is a Physician Assistant (PA-C) in the Department of Urology at Northwestern Medicine, which is in the Chicago area.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 1, 2026 ... On April 14, 2025, Fasone underwent brain surgery with Dr. Magill to remove the tumor and Northwestern Medicine otolaryngologist Kevin Welch, MD ...
https://news.nm.org/after-a-tumor-disrupts-an-illinois-woman…
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web search NEUTRAL — May 20, 2022 ... Lisa Katherine ▻ Physician Assistant/Associate (PA) Jobs [USA Only] ... Lisa Fasone, PA-C, MMS Department of Urology Northwestern Medicine.
https://www.facebook.com/mnurology/posts/join-the-largest-pr…
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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 7, 2023 ... Lisa Katherine ▻ Physician Assistant/Associate (PA) Jobs [USA Only] ... Lisa Fasone, PA-C, MMS Department of Urology Northwestern Medicine.
https://www.facebook.com/portageinchamber/posts/northwest-me…
verified
Claim 6: “Around the world, one in six people struggle with infertility”
VERIFIED
The World Health Organization (WHO) explicitly states that approximately 1 in 6 people (17.5%) worldwide experience infertility.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 4, 2023 ... Around 17.5% of the adult population – roughly 1 in 6 worldwide – experience infertility, showing the urgent need to increase access to affordable, high- ...
https://www.who.int/news/item/04-04-2023-1-in-6-people-globa…
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web search NEUTRAL — Nov 28, 2025 ... Estimates suggest that approximately one in every six people of reproductive age worldwide experience infertility in their lifetime. In the ...
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/infertility
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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 8, 2018 ... In one-third of infertile couples, the problem is with the man. · In one-third of infertile couples, the problem can't be identified or is with ...
https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/infertility/conditio…
verified
Claim 7: “The hormone [prolactin] is produced by the pituitary gland — nestled at the base of the skull — where it stimulates lactation and influences fertility.”
VERIFIED
The biological function and location of the pituitary gland and the role of prolactin in lactation and fertility are confirmed by medical diagnostic sources and health articles.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Prolactin is a vital hormone produced by the pituitary gland with key roles in reproductive health, especially in women. While it’s most well-known for stimulating breast milk production after childbi…
https://www.sparshdiagnostica.com/prolactin/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Bloodwork revealed her prolactin – the hormone produced by the pituitary gland that stimulates lactation and influences fertility – levels were elevated. Medication to reduce her prolactin levels work…
https://news.nm.org/after-a-tumor-disrupts-an-illinois-woman…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The hormone is produced by the pituitary gland — nestled at the base of the skull — where it stimulates lactation and influences fertility. “They suspected it was a tumor because I didn’t have any oth…
https://nypost.com/2026/06/03/health/brain-surgery-helped-me…
verified
Claim 8: “The benign mass, called a prolactinoma, is the most common type of tumor on the pituitary gland.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and the NIDDK both explicitly state that a prolactinoma is the most common type of functioning pituitary tumor.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A prolactinoma is a tumor (adenoma) of the pituitary gland that produces the hormone prolactin. It is the most common type of functioning pituitary tumor. [1] Symptoms of prolactinoma are due to abnor…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolactinoma
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web search NEUTRAL — Sep 20, 2025 · Prolactinoma is a tumor of the pituitary gland that is not cancer. This tumor causes the pituitary gland to make too much of a hormone called prolactin. A prolactinoma isn't life-threat…
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prolactinoma/…
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web search NEUTRAL — How common are prolactinomas? ... Small, benign pituitary tumors are fairly common in the general population. A prolactinoma is the most common type of pituitary ...
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/endocrine-disea…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.