A Georgia woman had a 27-pound tumor removed from her belly on Tuesday, WSB-TV reported.
For two months, 58-year-old Doris Lewis carried the massive cystic tumor in her abdomen, a growth that reached the size of a beach ball by the time it was removed by doctors at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
"(We're) very thankful and relieved," Lewis' daughter, Sarina Lewis, told the station. "It's just so overwhelming and I'm thankful and I'm happy she was able to make it."
It took Doris Lewis several attempts before she could find a doctor that was willing to remove the tumor because she did not have health insurance.
"It's getting bigger and bigger every day," Doris told WSB-TV in May, adding that she was in pain. "I can feel it on my body."
At first Doris thought her belly was growing because she was gaining weight. But one day the pain was so severe she called 911 and was rushed to the hospital. That's when doctors agreed to remove it.
It took surgeons a grueling 8 hours to remove the noncancerous tumor, which had attached itself to Doris' stomach wall and spread to her intestines. Doctors said the tumor, which grew slowly over several years, would have kept growing if it was not removed.
"As the thing had grown, it had displaced her internal organs up and to the left," Dr. Alan Gordon told the station.
The tumor was also filled with fluid, which leaked out during the operation.
"A total of about 12 to 13 liters, so that would be about 27 to 28 pounds of fluid," Gordon said.
Doris is to remain at Emory for several days while she recovers. Sarina said she can't wait to visit her mother.
"It will be so much better when I get to see her face and just see her alive," Sarina told WSB-TV.
