That’s not the scenario you originally proposed and that’s what we were responding to.
Ah, good call. I knew I’d managed to get that result sometimes.
It was at the hospitals I worked at - but first the parts that come off people in surgery are examined by a pathologist then kept for a couple of months or so. True story - when I was a lab tech student rotating through histotechnology, I came back from lunch to half a leg just sitting in the medical waste garbage can (the old ladies running the histo lab had decided it was time to throw it out, so just dumped it in the garbage can). Since the thing was stinking up the joint something fierce, I wrapped it up and took it out to the further away garbage can.
Now, now, that was only a Rhode Island sized meatball. Or maybe Delaware…
So?
Someone asked why a tumor like that would be ignored/untreated for so long. Well, there are two guesses. Be my guest and come up with more.
You do know that not everyone in the world has access to ultrasounds and good prenatal care, yes? That describes First World care (and, for the US, care for people who have health insurance). Granted, in major urban areas Argentina has good care, but for all we know this woman comes from some remote backwater part of the country.
With a tumor that large they would probably start off with an ultrasound and follow with a CT scan. A biopsy would usually not be performed as you would like to avoid spreading cells of the tumor within the abdominal cavity, and you already know that this needs to come out.
We don’t know how tall she is, though. a 50 pound weight gain is going to look a lot different on a woman 5’8" or taller than one only 5’.
But a biopsy of the mass after taking it would likely be done. I asked why the x-ray since I thought, like you, this and other imaging diagnostics would have been done before surgery.
But after surgery, I’m sure they’d want to confirm what they think it is, plus check multiple surgical margins to make sure they are “clean” and they didn’t leave some nest of tumor cells behind that would need treatment later.
You weigh 105kg. You know you’re fat, the world lets you know your fat, the few times you go to the doctor, instead of concentrating on the reason for your visits, he/she spends most of the time lecturing you on your weight. It reminds you of your childhood, of your parents lecturing you, your classmates teasing you, the disapproving looks you got from strangers on the street. You feel ashamed.
You notice your pants getting tight in the waist. Dammit, you’re gaining weight again! You try to eat less, exercise more, but it doesn’t seem to make any difference. You don’t go to the doctor, because what doctor is going to believe you? Besides, you feel fine apart from the weight gain, so what’s the point of going to the doctor?
You continue to gain weight, your waistline continues to expand. You feel helpless, you still don’t go to the doctor. You’re starting to feel a bit unwell, you’re tired most of the time, but you know it’s because you’re getting fatter, because that’s what happens to fat people. You’ve only yourself to blame, even though you can’t account for the weight gain.
You try not to think about it, because thinking about it only makes you more depressed. So you avoid looking in the mirror, you start wearing stretch fabric clothing because it’s more comfortable, and you don’t talk to anyone about it. You don’t get out much anyway, so noone really notices the change in you.
Then here’s the really ridiculous bit - you realise there’s a mass in your belly, but you still don’t want to go to the doctor, because if there is something wrong with you, it’s still your fault for being fat. So you try and put it out of your mind. Until the day you realise it’s gotten very big and you really need to seek help for it. So you decide you’ll call the doctor and make an appointment. You’ll do it next week.
Next week is quite busy, and you don’t make the appointment. nevermind, you think to yourself, I’ll make the call next week. Or the week after. Or the week after.
Eventually you make the appointment, the doctor examines you and whisks you off to the hospital.
Yep, I could definitely see this happening.
However, if you get past month 5 or 6 without feeling any movement, I’d think you’d be a bit concerned?
Even if the only medical treatment available was the village midwife, she’d be suspicious that something wasn’t quite right. And if she had a midwife’s trumpet (a.k.a. Pinard stethescope), a pretty basic piece of equipment, she’d be able to establish that there was no heartbeat or other sounds that she’d expect to hear.
I can believe that lack of access to medical care may explain or at least help to explain how the tumor got so big, I just don’t think the thought-it-was-a-pregnancy angle maes much sense.
Would a tumor like this just be soft squishy blood-soaked tissue all the way through?
As opposed to what… a pus balloon?
Tumors (as opposed to cysts/abcesses) are ususally pretty firm, aren’t they? But they do tend to have prodigous blood supply.
I’m wondering if the woman was very poor and never received regular medical care.
Malignant tumors are generally disorganized masses of tissue when compared with their tissues of origin. Since all the cells are growing and dividing like hell, it gets big, and will usually induce more blood vessels to grow to feed the mass. However, since it is disorganized, and each cell is greedy and growing like hell, they will often outstrip their blood supply, so the cells at the middle will starve, leaving necrotic dead goopy parts within the mass. In addition, depending on the tissue of origin, there can be different kinds of cells within the mass - liposarcomas will have fat, other tumors can have calcifications, stuff like that.
Ew. Ew ew ew. But thanks for the info.
“Iron Chef - Battle Neoplasm”
I love the first comment, about how that really should have said “Tumor has 140-pound woman removed from its back.”
So…is it edible?
And it would be a HIPAA violation if he did.
Does HIPAA apply in Argentina? Or have they something similar?