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A 59-year-old Norwegian man who was called FAT for 12 years due to a continuously growing belly was a 60-pound malignant tumour. Thomas Kraut said he was diagnosed with obesity and even got prescribed Ozempic before they discovered the growth, leading to a 10-hour surgery for its removal.

Kraut’s stomach kept getting bigger with doctors initially convinced that he was simply overweight. He was sent on weight loss and nutrition courses, even when the cancer was growing inside him.

Originally from Germany, Kraut moved to Norway to work as an optician in 2008. However, he began having health issues in 2011 when his stomach began to protrude. Doctors then diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and obesity in 2012. However, after more than a decade, when he was being prepped for a gastric sleeve operation to tackle his obesity, doctors realised Kraut had a giant malignant tumour growing inside him.

“My stomach kept getting bigger. I went from doctor to doctor and in 2019 I was finally approved for a gastric sleeve,” he told the New York Post. “The doctors only ever talked about being overweight and diabetes. I was given Ozempic for diabetes and before the gastric sleeve I had to attend nutrition and fitness courses for several years,” he added.

Kraut said after pressing his stomach, the doctor understood that the hard surface was not fat. “It pressed on my stomach. It was hard and not soft, as is the case with fat,” Kraut said.

“In addition, I had lost so much weight with the change in diet and Ozempic that my face and arms were very thin. Only my stomach was huge. The doctor even said that I was actually malnourished.” After the doctor ordered a CT scan it was revealed Kraut had a huge tumour.

Kraut said due to the growing tumour, the functioning of his right kidney got affected, as it was suppressing the organ. “It was a real shock for me,” Kraut admitted. “My kidney was affected because the tumor was feeding on my right kidney.”

It took doctors two weeks to diagnose Kraut with a rare fatty tumour that was actually made up of multiple smaller cancerous areas surrounded by fat.

Kraut underwent a 10-hour operation to remove the huge tumour which weighed nearly 30 kilograms and measured 20.59 inches (52.3 centimeters) in diameter. Doctors said it had caused significant damage to his body and part of his small intestine as well as his right kidney had to be removed, and he still has cancerous tissue growing inside him.

“I go to a psychologist for therapy every two weeks. I have to go to the oncologist twice a year because I still have tumour tissue inside me that is growing. I was told that it cannot be removed because it is connected to several organs,” he said.

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