Liposarcoma: A Rare but Dangerous Tumor

For years doctors told 58-year-old Linda Rittenbach, that she needed to lose weight. She dieted, she exercised but her weight would not go down. Rittenbach said, "You get bigger and bigger than you go to the doctor and they tell you, 'You need to lose weight, you're fat!" When doctors recommended weight loss surgery, she turned down the idea.

This spring Rittenbach was having flu-like symptoms and taken to see a different doctor. It was then that she learned what was wrong with her. Doctors told Rittenbach that is was a rare type of cancerous tumor, a Liposarcoma, which had probably been growing for fifteen or twenty years.

Rittenbach underwent three surgeries to remove the tumors. The combined weight of the tumors was 140 pounds, with the smaller of the two being about the size of a carry on luggage.

Liposarcoma

Liposarcoma is a very rare and dangerous tumor that grows from fat cells. It appears as a slow growing mass that usually has smaller growths forming off the main tumor.

It is the most common form of soft tissue sarcoma, but accounts for less than 20 percent of types of sarcomas reported. Every year roughly 5,000 people are affected by Liposarcoma in the United States. Of these 5,000 less than 60 cases have been reported to be children.

When the tumor is developing, there will be little or no pain. As with Linda it is very easy to not know, something is wrong. Some patients will notice a mass forming and others will not know until the tumor becomes very large and causes pain or problems.

Liposarcoma can be diagnosed by performing an Ultrasound, Computed Tomography or CT scan, Magnetic Resonance Imaging or MRI scan, Biopsy or Angioraphy, dyes injected into the blood stream.

Treatments for Liposarcoma are few, with the most successful being surgery. Chemotherapy and radiation Therapy can also be used to shrink down the tumor.

Liposarcom is normally found in the thighs and abdomen of those ages 50 and older, with it being slightly more common in men than women.