A woman in Ireland has been living with a large breast-shaped lump on her back for ten whole years.

The 46-year-old recently went to a clinic in Dublin to have the huge growth on her right mid-lower back examined.

Doctors recording the case in the journal BMJ Case Reports said that when they examined the ‘impressive’ mass they found that while it was firm to the touch, it was not tender.

The lump which first appeared on the smoker’s back 10 years ago had started growing rapidly over the past three years.





As doctors suspected that the 19cm-long growth was a soft tissue cancer known as a sarcoma, they immediately carried out an MRI scan.

However they found the growth was actually a giant lipoma, a benign tumour made up of fat cells.

View photos The 19cm-long growth started to rapidly increase in size over the last three years.Source: BMJ. More

The case report said that while Lipomas are usually small and soft, they can sometimes grow to 'impressive' sizes.

Report co-author Dr Tunde Abdulsalam said the unidentified woman’s lipoma was one of the biggest he has ever seen.

“It is unusual to let it grow that big. Most patients would have it removed sooner for cosmetic reasons,” he told the Daily Mail.

View photos The mass on the woman's back was 19cm long. Source: BMJ. More

“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.”

The woman is reportedly on a waiting list to have the large mass removed.

It is not clear why she did not see a doctor about the huge lump earlier.

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