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| Cause of Val Best's weight loss struggle was a tumour | Cause of Val Best's weight loss struggle was a tumour |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| A retired civil servant has told of her shock at learning the weight she was struggling to lose was a football-sized tumour lodged in her stomach. | A retired civil servant has told of her shock at learning the weight she was struggling to lose was a football-sized tumour lodged in her stomach. |
| Val Best, 69, of Highwoods Square in Colchester, Essex, decided to get fitter after the death of her cab driver husband Roger in 2010. | Val Best, 69, of Highwoods Square in Colchester, Essex, decided to get fitter after the death of her cab driver husband Roger in 2010. |
| Surgeons at Colchester hospital removed a tumour which weighed 7.5kg from the 69-year-old. | Surgeons at Colchester hospital removed a tumour which weighed 7.5kg from the 69-year-old. |
| She said: "Now I'm absolutely fine, I'm fit and healthy, a new me." | |
| The mother of four said her concerns grew because no amount of exercise seemed to shift the bulge over her abdomen. | |
| "I was trying to lose weight after my husband died," said Mrs Best, who used to work in the job centre. | |
| "I thought 'I'm getting older and I'm getting fat and I'd better lose weight or I'll get diabetes or something like that'. | |
| 'A new me' | 'A new me' |
| "I wasn't succeeding and I was feeling like I was nine months' pregnant," she said. "But at 69 and a widow I thought I can't be nine months' pregnant. So I went to the doctor." | "I wasn't succeeding and I was feeling like I was nine months' pregnant," she said. "But at 69 and a widow I thought I can't be nine months' pregnant. So I went to the doctor." |
| Her doctor expected to find soft tissue around Mrs Best's stomach but instead found it to be hard. | |
| As a result, she was sent for the first of a number of scans. | As a result, she was sent for the first of a number of scans. |
| "I thought it was going to be a waste of time to be honest," said Mrs Best. | "I thought it was going to be a waste of time to be honest," said Mrs Best. |
| But she ended up being seen by doctors at Colchester General hospital. | But she ended up being seen by doctors at Colchester General hospital. |
| She said: "The specialist surgeon ordered a more detailed scan and found a tumour, which scared the life out of me." | She said: "The specialist surgeon ordered a more detailed scan and found a tumour, which scared the life out of me." |
| The tumour was attached to one of her ovaries and had grown upwards and outwards. | The tumour was attached to one of her ovaries and had grown upwards and outwards. |
| "I nicknamed it my spacehopper, the doctor called it a football, a very large football," said Mrs Best. "It weighed 7.5kg (1st), the size of two babies. | "I nicknamed it my spacehopper, the doctor called it a football, a very large football," said Mrs Best. "It weighed 7.5kg (1st), the size of two babies. |
| "I did ask the surgeon whether he could do me a tummy-tuck at the same time but he said, 'no, the cut was going in the wrong direction'." | "I did ask the surgeon whether he could do me a tummy-tuck at the same time but he said, 'no, the cut was going in the wrong direction'." |
| She told how she was very "frightened" about having the operation. | She told how she was very "frightened" about having the operation. |
| "I couldn't have had better treatment anywhere else," she said. "And while I was open they removed some other parts including a handful of cancer cells in my uterus, which is why I feel they saved my life." | "I couldn't have had better treatment anywhere else," she said. "And while I was open they removed some other parts including a handful of cancer cells in my uterus, which is why I feel they saved my life." |
| "Now I'm absolutely fine, I'm fit and healthy, a new me." | "Now I'm absolutely fine, I'm fit and healthy, a new me." |
| She has since returned to her exercise regime. | She has since returned to her exercise regime. |
| A spokesman for the hospital said: "'We're really pleased to hear she's doing well. It was an unusually large tumour." | A spokesman for the hospital said: "'We're really pleased to hear she's doing well. It was an unusually large tumour." |