Let's be honest: We can all get a little bit lazy about our health sometimes.
Still, even if we don't always schedule our annual physicals right on time, I think we're all pretty good about going to the doctor when something is clearly wrong.
For some folks, however, the fear of going to doctor is scarier than any medical ailment, and they might wait and wait and wait to get it checked out, as we saw in the tragic case of a man who didn't deal with his melanoma until it was too late.
For one woman from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the fear of going to the doctor was so intense that she neglected a visit for five years, even though she had a giant tumor that was slowly taking over her life.
Thankfully, after she finally got her enormous growth looked at, her story had a happy ending — read on below to learn more!
Mercedes Talamantes, of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, lived with a giant tumor for five long years.
The 51-year-old mom used to weigh around 143 pounds, but she saw her weight balloon as the tumor grew, until she finally tipped the scales at 275 pounds.
Still, she didn't treat it, until one of her daughters finally convinced her to see a doctor.
She ended up at Cabo San Lucas' IMSS Hospital, where a surgical team went in and removed the mass.
Talamantes admitted that, for the last two years, her mobility and breathing has both become impaired by the tumor's growth.
With it gone, she would have a shot at a normal life again.
Warning: The following images are of a graphic medical nature. If you would like to see them, please click the photo to reveal.
Her surgical team, led by Dr. Gilberto Inzunza Salazar, spent four hours carefully removing the tumor.
As they removed the tumor, they also removed nearly one half of Talamantes' body weight.
They discovered that it had started on one of her ovaries and taken over her abdominal cavity.
With the tumor fully removed, doctors were able to see the full scope of the mass for the first time.
The enormous piece of tissue weighed a whopping 132 pounds — roughly the size of a small adult woman and just ten pounds less than Talamantes' weighed before it began to grow.
Now, she'll finally have her life back, free of the crushing weight of her tumor.
Her medical team believes it is the largest ovarian tumor ever, and say they have never seen any tumor the size of this one.
Still, it's not the first tumor of its kind: a few years ago, a young woman in Peru had a similar mass removed.
Her tumor was so large that people thought she was pregnant, but at just 35 pounds, it was only a third of the size of Talamantes' mass.
Talamantes, meanwhile, lost one ovary in the surgery, and will need abdominal reconstruction to help her regain normal use of her midsection.
It will take some time to get used to life without the tumor, but, as she explained in a joint press conference with her surgeon, "I feel like a new woman. In fact, after the surgery when I took my first steps, I felt like I was walking on air."
If you or anyone you know experiences unusual abdominal swelling or pain, make sure to call your doctor and get it checked out straight away.
Are you as stunned as we are by this medical miracle? Watch the press conference below to learn more, and make sure to SHARE with all the women in your life!
