REDMOND, Ore. - Linda Rittenbach tried all the diets and workouts, but nothing would help her lose weight. Doctors even suggested weight-loss surgery.
It wasn't until the Redmond woman went to a different doctor this spring for flu-like symptoms that she found out why she couldn't shed the pounds.
A 64-kilogram cancerous tumour had been growing near her stomach for the past 20 years.
Her doctor predicted that surgery had only a 20-per-cent success rate.
It took doctors in Redmond and Portland three surgeries, over two months, to remove the tumour.
Doctors had to remove her kidneys to complete the surgery, and were only able to put one back.
"The type of tumour that wound up being extracted was extremely rare," said Dr. George Tsai at St. Charles Medical Centre-Redmond.
"But I think it underscores that when things don't quite make sense and become a chronic problem, don't stop until you find the answer."
