The body can be host to a lot of parasites, including tumors. There had been a lot of reports showing big tumors being extracted from a patient's body. A new report, however, is more peculiar as doctors remove a 35-pound tumor from the abdomen of a Peruvian woman whose body became host to it for eight years.
Irianita Rojas Rasma, a 22-year-old woman who hailed from Lima, Peru, lived with the giant ovarian tumor since she was 13 years old. The tumor grew so big that she looked as if she was pregnant.
"The tumor was approximately 50 centimeters (19.6 inches) in diameter," said Dr. Luis Garcia Bernal, hospital director of Archbishop Loayza National Hospital.
"It's as if she were pregnant, but twice the size," he added.
The Coincidental Meeting
Rojas lived in a far flung and remote area in the Peruvian jungle. She had decided to live with the tumor until a coincidental meeting with Anibal Velasquez Valdivia, Peru's health minister.
The health minister traveled to the area to oversee the construction of a health center but Rojas immediately caught his attention. He then ordered that the woman be transferred to Lima to be treated.
The hospital staff promptly performed preparation for the surgery including laboratory tests to make certain that she in a healthy condition.
There Is No Chemotherapy Needed
It took surgeons approximately three hours to remove the tumor on Feb. 20. Rojas will stay in the facility to allow for her recovery.
"Irianita is recovering and can be released, but she will stay in Lima for a few more days to so that we can practice additional exams to define the treatment she should follow when she returns to (the province of) Loreto," Dr. Garcia Bernal said.
Even though the tumor was malignant, it was considered low intensity which means that there is no need for a chemotherapy treatment. Most patients with this case recover fully once the tumor has been removed.
Young women need to have more health examinations and screenings than men because of gynecological and obstetric care. This bizarre case shows the importance of health care among women across the globe, including those living in remote areas.
How Do Ovarian Tumors Form?
Most cases of ovarian cancer occur in women over the age of 50 though younger women may also develop benign tumors early. There are two types of ovarian tumors - benign and malignant. Benign tumors are less aggressive and dangerous since it seldom results to cancer while malignant tumors are cancerous.
Tumors form in the ovaries — just like how tumors in the other parts of the body develop — from abnormal division of cells. Epithelial cell tumors usually develop on the surface of the ovaries while germ cell tumors develop in the cells that produce eggs. Stromal tumors, on the other hand, come from the cells that produce female hormone cells.
Benign mucinous cystadenomas account for about 15 percent of all benign neoplasms and are the largest known tumors that can develop inside the body.
Photo: Ed Uthman | Flickr
