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For months, 47-year-old Hector Hernandez did not understand why his stomach was so big.
"I just thought I was fat," he said. "I've always been a big guy."
It will take a year and a half before he discovers that his big belly is actually a 25-kg tumor. Meanwhile, he watched the growing growth.
When he took the Los Angeles metro every morning to get to work, people watched him.
"I wore fat jackets to hide, but it was very visible. , "He said in an interview on Wednesday.
And when he sat down at his desk, where he was billing for an information technology company," my belly was no longer in between my legs, "he said.
Some Assume
One day a man approached him at a Circle K convenience store near Mr. Hernandez, where he lives in Downey, California. He rubbed his stomach and told him he should not drink. good for you, "said Mr. Hernandez.
" And I just laughed and said, "You know what, I do not drink," he said.
It's not too much Eating, but Mr. Hernandez tried a herbal diet, hoping it would make a difference.
That's not the case.
His stomach continued to grow until it became so bulky that it looked like "a beach ball" and he could not bend over to tie his laces.
But as his stomach continued to expand, the rest of his body became thinner. [19659002] Worried about his appearance, in 2016 he went to see a doctor who told him that some people "simply weighed differently." He asked for a second opinion the following year and was finally referred to Dr. William Tseng, oncologist at the Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California
Tests revealed that Mr. Her Nandez had a liposarcoma, a rare form of cancer that originated in fat cells and developed into a large tumor in the abdomen. 19659016] Although the tumor itself was not painful, Mr. Hernandez was suffering from high blood pressure and was suffering from constant shortness of breath, constipation and heartburn, all symptoms that We can now attribute to sarcoma.
During a six-hour operation in July, Dr. Tseng withdrew the tumor, which weighed 77 pounds.
"It's the biggest I've ever seen," Dr. Tseng said. , one of the few doctors in the United States who has specialized in eliminating large soft tissue sarcomas. Typically, he added, tumors of this type weigh between 20 and 30 pounds.
Fortunately, the "slow-growing giant beast" did not spread to other parts of Mr. Hernandez's body, said Dr. Tseng, but the surgical team l & # 39; 39, did. He must remove one of his kidneys.
"The tumor swallowed it, essentially," Hernandez said of the kidney. "It was not working anymore."
Doctors do not know why such sarcomas are formed or how to stop them.
"We have nothing to prevent this at this stage," said Dr. Tseng. .
Unfortunately, Dr. Hernandez was told that liposarcoma would very likely come back.
And if that happened, the cancer could become more aggressive. The only solution is more surgery, said Dr. Tseng, adding that he hoped that this type of disease – although unusual – would be subject to further research.
"We desperately need something better than surgery," he said.
million. Hernandez will undergo a scan every four months to monitor his condition. He now faces thousands of dollars in medical bills and requests donations via GoFundMe.
Since the operation, his symptoms have disappeared and he has regained "90%" of normalcy.
"Oh my God, I feel very good. "He said, adding later:" I think I just need to strengthen my strength. "
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