What the? … a woman had a giant breast-shaped tumour growing on her back for 10 years (this is not the woman). Picture: Generic/Supplied Source: Supplied
WARNING: Images may be disturbing for some readers.
FOR 10 years, a Dublin woman lived with a giant breast-shaped lump on her back.
Firm to the touch, but not painful, the mass grew rapidly over the last three years.
But it wasn’t until recently that the 46-year-old smoker got it checked out.
The mass is 19cm long. Picture: bmj.com Source: Supplied
The lump has been growing for 10 years. Picture: bmj.com Source: Supplied
Doctors suspected the 19cm-long growth was a soft tissue cancer known as a sarcoma.
The woman was a heavy smoker with a history of chronic obstructive airway disease.
Lipoma … doctors said the tumour is a non-cancerous growth made up of fat cells. Picture: bmj.com Source: Supplied
But an MRI scan revealed it was actually a giant lipoma, a benign tumour made up of fat cells, according to a British Medical Journal Case Report published in August.
Lipomas are usually small and soft, but can sometimes grow to “impressive” sizes, the case report said.
Pain-free … the 46-year-old woman said the lump didn’t hurt. Picture: bmj.com Source: Supplied
Report co-author Dr Tunde Abdulsalam said the unidentified woman’s lipoma was one of the biggest he’d seen.
“It is unusual to let it grow that big. Most patients would have it removed sooner for cosmetic reasons,” he told Daily Mail Online.
“From my clinical experience, most lipomas are small in size. And most patients frequently leave it alone because it is relatively stable for years and does not affect bodily function. But in some cases, it can increase in size as a person’s BMI increases.”
MRI … the woman said the mass on her mid-lower back grew significantly over the last three years. Picture: bmj.com Source: Supplied
The woman is reportedly on a waiting list to have the mass removed.
It is not clear why she did not see a doctor earlier.
Originally published as ‘Unusual to let it grow that big’