Man’s “Beer Belly” Turns Out To Be 30-Pound Tumor

While most men feel relief at the idea of losing 30 pounds after an open-heart surgery, Kevin Daly thought something was off. Despite losing a significant amount of weight through dieting and exercise, the 63-year-old resident of Hoboken, New Jersey noticed that his belly refused to shed pounds. Daly admitted that despite shaving a noticeable amount of weight, his belly almost seemed to grow in size. Daly’s concerns only grew after hearing the common adage that belly fat grows tougher to burn off as one ages.

In December of 2017, Daly’s decision to have a CT scan paid off with the revelation of an extremely large mass within his midsection. After “two seconds” of relief, Daly confessed to dreading the sort of news that tends to follow the knowledge of a massive growth and braced himself for a potential future of chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Fortunately for Daly, the mass turned out to be a rare form of tumor known as a liposarcoma; a cancerous mass that grows within the body’s fatty tissue. Surgeons advised him that it would be best to just excise the liposarcoma.

While initial scans led the surgeons to believe the tumor weighed around 12 pounds, those findings proved inaccuracy in the middle of the procedure. It was revealed that the liposarcoma was more than twice the anticipated size and had wrapped around one of Daly’s kidneys. The procedure took a total of six hours to remove the 30-pound tumor and Daly’s entangled left kidney.

Dr. Julio Teixeira, one of the surgeons involved in Daly’s procedure, remarked that, as the largest tumor he had ever removed, the procedure was a career event. Teixeira remarked that it was one thing to see a picture of such a tumor and quite another to hold that same tumor in his skilled hands.

After a recent three-month follow-up in the MRI, Daly showed nothing to indicate the presence of new growths. Daly said that he feels great and, at 187 pounds, is now in his early-60s with a flat belly and the weight he was at his college age. Teixeira is optimistic for Daly’s situation and will continue to watch for future tumors. Teixeria went on to advise the public to never hesitate in consulting with a doctor if something feels odd and to listen to one’s instincts; “if something tells you that something is wrong, you are probably right.”