Grandmother's 140-pound tumor removed
Mary Clancey, a 71-year-old grandmother from St. Clair, Pa., shown here in 2006. She noticed her weight creeping up over 15 years before doctors finally discovered a 140-pound cancerous tumor in her abdomen.
Massive tumor removed
Mary Clancey seen in 2007. Before her surgery, she weighed 365 pounds.
Massive tumor removed
Mary Clancey in a family photo from 2008.
Massive tumor removed
Mary Clancey seen in 2008 with her grandson, long before she learned that a massive tumor had been slowly growing in her abdomen.
Massive tumor removed
Mary Clancey seen in 2008 surrounded by family. She didn’t realize a massive tumor was growing in her abdomen for 15 years.
Over time, “Things started getting harder to do -- harder to walk, harder to stand -- and then one day I couldn’t get out of bed,” Clancey said. “My son said, ‘Let’s call an ambulance and take you out of here.’”
Massive tumor removed
Mary Clancey’s 140-pound tumor is shown in a CAT scan before doctors at Lehigh Valley Health Network removed it in Nov. 2016. Doctors said it had grown from an ovarian cyst into a Stage 1 cancerous mass.
“The results of Mary’s CAT scan are permanently engrained in my mind,” Dr. Richard Boulay, chief of gynecologic oncology, said. “The mass was so big it didn’t even fit in the picture of the scanner -- I had never seen anything like it.”
Massive tumor removed
In this before-and-after picture, Mary Clancey is shown on the left in 2006, and at right after recovering from her five-hour operation in 2016 that removed a 140-pound cancerous tumor.
Massive tumor removed
Mary Clancey is shown after having a 140-pound tumor removed from her abdomen by doctors at Lehigh Valley Health Network. Surgeons said they removed 180 pounds of tumor and tissue, accounting for nearly half her body weight.
Massive tumor removed
Mary Clancey seen with family members after recovering from surgery. “I was going to be a short, fat, round little old lady before, so you never know, I might just turn into a voluptuous babe now,” Claney joked.
Read more: Grandmother who thought she was “plump” has 140-pound tumor removed