California woman, 56, reveals how watermelon-sized tumor on her abdomen stopped her from having sex with her boyfriend for years… and she split up with him as soon as it was removed!

A woman whose watermelon-sized tumor kept her from being intimate with her boyfriend has been ‘given the gift of renewed life’ after having the mass removed.

Jennifer, 56, from Coarsegold, California, first noticed a spot growing on the right side of her abdomen in 2014 – which ‘exploded in size’ in 2019.

By the time she saw a doctor that year the mass had ballooned to nearly 6lbs, at which point she was unable to do work on the farm and felt too self conscious to have sex with her boyfriend Bill.

But when she finally had the growth removed, she said: ‘My confidence level is through the roof. I feel really good.’

And a few weeks after her surgery, Jennifer broke up with Bill.  

She said: ‘Before when I had the tumor, being intimate wasn’t really on my radar too much. I didn’t give it a lot of thought.

‘And now that I don’t have the tumor, it’s very freeing.’

Jennifer said on this week’s episode of TLC’s Take My Tumor that she had never received a proper diagnosis of her tumor and when she visited a doctor in 2019, the physician was shocked – and didn’t know who to refer Jennifer to.

Jennifer said: ‘[In 2019] that’s about when it got kind of scary for me.’

Determined to take her life back, however, the ranch owner discovered surgical oncologist Dr Kimberly Dalal, who was able to remove the tumor. 

Jennifer said: ‘Things like this affect you in a different way than you would ever imagine psychologically.’

The 5.74-pound tumor was severely interfering with her life. She could no longer venture along her favorite hiking trails with her dog and boyfriend, help around the farm they owned, bend down or lift heavy objects. 

It was even hard to walk for extended periods of time. 

Additionally, Jennifer said the tumor ‘greatly’ affected their intimacy as it crushed her confidence and she felt very self conscious around her partner. 

The tumor made her feel unattractive, and as the mass grew, so did the distance between the couple. 

She hoped removing the mass would restore her self esteem. 

For her surgery, Jennifer traveled to San Francisco to meet with Dr Dalal, medical director of surgical oncology at Sutter Health Mills Peninsula Hospital.

After examining Jennifer, Dr Dalal became very concerned over the veins running through the mass and told Jennifer the tumor could be a rare form of cancer. She said it needed to be removed as soon as possible and sent for testing.

Jennifer said: ‘Once it stares you in the face, the possibilities of it being cancerous, it’s just emotional. Her examining me and it being addressed and finally getting it done, you know, it’s kind of overwhelming, I guess.’

On the day of surgery, Dr Dalal told Jennifer her goal was to remove the entire mass, even cutting out some healthy tissue surrounding the tumor to ensure every piece was eliminated and the tumor would not grow back, out of fear it was a rare cancer. 

But cutting deeper into Jennifer’s muscle meant a more painful recovery. 

While the procedure was largely uncomplicated, the large veins and blood vessels throughout the tumor were bleeding more than the surgeon expected.

Dr Dalal said because the tumor was so large, it had developed its own blood supply. And anytime the surgical team hit a vein, blood forcefully squirting out and onto the operating room floor. 

Dr Dalal said she encountered more bleeding than expected, but she was able to remove the entire mass. 

One week later, the doctor called Jennifer with the pathology report. Her tumor was malignant.

Results showed the mass was a solitary fibrous tumor, a rare soft tissue growth. The growths can develop anywhere on the body but are most common in the lining around the lungs. 

In Jennifer’s case, the tumor was classified as a soft tissue sarcoma, a type of cancer that develops in muscles, tendons, fat, lymph nodes and blood vessels. 

It is a rare type of cancer that accounts for less than one percent of all cancer cases in the US. Some research has shown incidence rates between two and five cases per 100,000 people. 

In 2024, the American Cancer Society estimates 13,600 new cases of soft tissue sarcoma, with 5,200 deaths. 

Despite the diagnosis, because the entire tumor was removed, Dr Dalal said Jennifer is considered cured – though she sent Jennifer for repeat body scans to see if the cancer had spread.

Three months later, Jennifer was happy to report that additional scans showed she was cancer free. 

She said: ‘There has been a dramatic improvement in the quality of my life since the tumor was removed.

‘I feel so different now. I feel lighter.

‘My confidence level is through the roof. I feel really good.’

With the tumor gone, Jennifer began hiking again and going out with friends. 

She said: ‘It’s feels amazing to be able to get out into nature. I have so much energy. It feels incredible… I feel like I was given a gift of renewed life.’ 

Jennifer added that she broke up with her boyfriend but they remain close friends. 

She said: ‘Before when I had the tumor, being intimate wasn’t really on my radar too much. I didn’t give it a lot of thought.

‘And now that I don’t have the tumor, it’s very freeing.’

Take My Tumor airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on TLC.