A woman listened to her gut and found a 20-lb. tumor.

When Kim Turner’s stomach started growing three years ago she tried to lose the weight around her midsection, but when nothing worked, she chalked it up to bad genetics. But then something else rather strange happened.

As Kim’s midsection continued to grow and grow, her appetite diminished to the point that she could barely eat more than half a sandwich at one time. She also struggled with constipation. Puzzled by why her midsection kept growing despite her lack of appetite, Kim went to see a doctor.

Kim bounced around to five physicians before she finally consulted with Dr. Ajay Maker, Director of Surgical Oncology at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, who found the answer to the mystery: Kim had a 20-pound tumor inside her belly.

Using high-tech imaging and state-of-the-art genetic testing, Dr. Maker confirmed his suspicion that Kim had a giant retroperitoneal liposarcoma, a rare type of tumor that originates in the fatty tissue in the abdominal area. Genetic defects in a fat cell can play a profound role in turning a normal fat cell into a cancerous fat cell that then grows uncontrollably. Dr. Maker describes this as “a fat cell gone wild.” His suspicion was that this tumor had been growing inside Kim’s body for about a decade or more and now involved multiple organs.

“It can often be difficult for patients or their doctors to make a diagnosis in cases like these because they are so rare, being less than 1 percent of all cancers,” Dr. Maker says. “There are roughly 13,000 new cases of sarcomas each year in the United States, with liposarcoma being just one type of over 50 different subtypes of sarcoma. There are only a handful of cases each year where a tumor gets to this point.”

With a tumor this large, Dr. Maker performed a series of scans and 3D modeling of the tumor to ensure the safest and most precise removal of the tumor from Kim’s abdomen. Surgery is the only treatment with curative intent for tumors such as these. What is critical to successful and safe surgery is complete removal of the tumor in one piece and tying off of the small blood vessels that nourish the tumor.

In late August 2017, Dr. Maker successfully performed surgery to remove the tumor and surrounding organs in one piece, which took approximately 3.5 hours to complete. The tumor was so large, a surgical staff member had to step out to purchase an extra-large container from the local hardware store to transport the tumor from the operating room to the pathology department for further testing.

Kim had no complications, was walking around the morning after surgery, and returned to her home less than a week later. She is now fully recovered and readjusting to life without a 20-pound tumor.

“I am feeling much, much better and so much lighter,” she says. “I had no idea the way that I felt wasn’t normal. The red flag was that my belly kept getting bigger, even though I didn’t have an appetite. I knew then that something was wrong. If there is anything I can share with others about my experience, it’s to always follow your gut instinct.”

Not only is Kim feeling better, but she has also gone through a complete wardrobe change: She’s down three pant sizes and 2 shirt sizes. Kim is also off constipation medications. But perhaps best of all, she is tumor-free and Dr. Maker is hopeful the tumor will not come back.

“Although approximately 40 percent of these types of tumors do come back, in Kim’s case, we knew exactly what we were up against,” he says. “The surgery was planned very carefully with advanced technology and we were able to achieve a margin-negative resection, meaning we were able to remove all the cancer cells to the best of our ability. Though we are always concerned for recurrence and will remain vigilant with regular chest and abdominal imaging, I remain hopeful this sarcoma tumor will become a thing of Kim’s past.”

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About Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center

Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center is a 397-bed non-profit teaching hospital located in the Lake View neighborhood on Chicago's North Side. The medical center has a Level I Trauma Center and a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the highest designations awarded by the state of Illinois, and offers comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care, including cardiovascular, oncology, digestive health and neurosciences services. A recipient of numerous awards for quality and clinical excellence, Advocate Illinois Masonic has achieved Magnet designation for excellence in nursing services from the American Nurses Credentialing Center. The medical center has also been named a Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality by the Human Rights Campaign's Healthcare Equality Index. Advocate Illinois Masonic is part of Advocate Health Care, the largest fully integrated health system in Illinois. For more information, visit www.advocatehealth.com/immc.