# The 300 lb tumor - with picture **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 16, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626 "2006-03-16T18:08:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/1 "2006-03-16T18:08:40Z")
[It’s a biggun!](http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=48465) Old news, but still …300 lbs ! > [@](#): > > Largest Tumor Removed Intact > The largest tumor ever removed intact was a multicystic mass of the right ovary weighing 137.6 kg (303 lb). The operation, which took over six hours, was performed by Professor Katherine O’Hanlan of Stanford University Medical Center, California, USA. The growth had a diameter of 1 m (3 ft) and was removed in its entirety in October 1991 from the abdomen of an unnamed 34-year-old woman. The patient – who weighed 95 kg (210 lb) after the operation and has made a full recovery – left the operating theater on one stretcher and the cyst left on another. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/2 "2006-03-16T18:13:26Z")
TMI! Dude, TMI! ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/3 "2006-03-16T18:13:53Z")
Looks comfy…kinda like a malignant beanbag chair. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/4 "2006-03-16T18:27:13Z")
What’s malignant is not telling how on earth they would let something go that long. Wouldn’t you start to get a bit concerned by about, oh, 200 pounds or so? ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/5 "2006-03-16T18:43:23Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > What’s malignant is not telling how on earth they would let something go that long. Wouldn’t you start to get a bit concerned by about, oh, 200 pounds or so? If not this case, then a similar one… I read that the woman was afraid to leave her house and therefore couldn’t bring herself to get diagnosed. As for the beanbag chair comment, anybody know what the texture of something like this is? Soft? Hard? Spongey? ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/6 "2006-03-16T19:16:46Z")
“It’s not a tuma”. Oh wait, yes it is. Dammit! ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/7 "2006-03-16T19:28:48Z")
I saw a documentary on a simliar case - possibly the same one. The woman was severely agoraphobic, so it took her a long time to seek treatment. The image that has stayed with me, however, was a shot of a nurse walking out of the operating room using both arms to hold a big plastic tub. What was the tub holding, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you - it was filled with a few dozen pounds of excess skin that had to be removed. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/8 "2006-03-16T19:35:25Z")
> [@cher3](#): > > What’s malignant is not telling how on earth they would let something go that long. Wouldn’t you start to get a bit concerned by about, oh, 200 pounds or so? I saw a medical show on a giant tumor. That particular woman’s problem was that the thing grew very quickly and had major blood vessels in it. She bled out the equivalent of three times I think they said. They couldn’t keep up with the blood loss. It finally got to the point where they had to operate because the tumor was literally sucking the life out of her. There’s a lot going on under the surface. But jesus. Eeeew-o-meter is off the charts. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/9 "2006-03-16T19:39:56Z")
Find the right filler material, and that thing would make a _hell_ of a lot of dog food. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/10 "2006-03-16T20:26:25Z")
Wha…? _faints_ ---
**Author:** ![gabriela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2006, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/11 "2006-03-16T20:37:15Z")
> [@Belrix](#): > > If not this case, then a similar one… I read that the woman was afraid to leave her house and therefore couldn’t bring herself to get diagnosed. > > As for the beanbag chair comment, anybody know what the texture of something like this is? Soft? Hard? Spongey? Before or after you break the cysts? Gabriela ---
**Author:** ![George\_Kaplin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3e96dc/32.png) [@George\_Kaplin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/George_Kaplin)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/12 "2006-03-17T00:58:52Z")
_mmmmm toad in the hole…_ ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/13 "2006-03-17T01:35:48Z")
> [@Belrix](#): > > As for the beanbag chair comment, anybody know what the texture of something like this is? Soft? Hard? Spongey? If it’s anything like a liposarcoma, it’s firm with a slight give to it. Kind of like a well-stuffed leather ball. But really, when the tumor gets larger than the person carrying it, shouldn’t the operation be called a humanectomy? ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/14 "2006-03-17T02:22:46Z")
Wait a second… > [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > TMI! Dude, TMI! The title of the thread is **The 300 lb tumor - with picture** , fer crying out loud! What the hell did you _expect_ to see in that link?? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/15 "2006-03-17T05:28:13Z")
> [@Hal Briston](#): > > Wait a second…The title of the thread is **The 300 lb tumor - with picture** , fer crying out loud! What the hell did you _expect_ to see in that link?? 😉 I can’t speak for anyone else, but I was expecting cute kitty pictures. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/16 "2006-03-17T06:49:21Z")
Yeah, I thought the picture would be of something nice to counter the effect of the OP subject matter. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/17 "2006-03-17T08:49:34Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Find the right filler material, and that thing would make a _hell_ of a lot of dog food. I was wondering if you could make some barbecue cancer brisket out of it… ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/18 "2006-03-17T10:06:18Z")
You know, this may be one of the first steps toward developing vat-grown meat. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/19 "2006-03-17T14:56:18Z")
Wasn’t the 300 lb tumor a teratoma – a nonmalignant mass noted for contaning bits of various body tissues, including hair and teeth? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2006, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626/20 "2006-03-17T15:46:21Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I saw a medical show on a giant tumor. That particular woman’s problem was that the thing grew very quickly and had major blood vessels in it. She bled out the equivalent of three times I think they said. They couldn’t keep up with the blood loss. It finally got to the point where they had to operate because the tumor was literally sucking the life out of her. There’s a lot going on under the surface. That was incredible. She was skeletal except for the big mass, because it was taking all the nutrients. After the operation she was restored to a plump woman who looked nothing like her pre-op self. Even during the operation they had to be really careful about moving her and The Tuma because of the weight, blood vessels, etc. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-300-lb-tumor-with-picture/348626.md?page=2)