News » Local News

Woman Grows to 7 Feet Due to Rare Disease

By Melissa Locker, TIME

Credit: Tina Valle

Tanya Angus, right, suffers from a rare disease that makes her body keep growing. At 33 years old, Angus is seven feet tall, weighs 400 lbs, and can barely walk under her own body weight.

September 5, 2012 Updated Sep 5, 2012 at 2:23 PM PDT

Tanya Angus suffers from a rare disease that makes her body keep growing… and growing. At 33 years old, Angus is seven feet tall, weighs 400 lbs, and can barely walk under her own body weight. Now, there is some hope.

Ten years ago, Angus was diagnosed with acromegaly, a rare disease that causes gigantism in adults. Acromegaly affects about 20,000 Americans, causing growth, weight gain and the accumulation of fluids, which puts stress on several systems in the body.

For Angus, the disease was caused by an inoperable tumor pressing on her pituitary gland, causing her body to release too much human growth hormone.

There's more to this story, to read about it at Time, CLICK HERE.

To submit a comment on this article, your email address is required. We respect your privacy and your email will not be visible to others nor will it be added to any email lists.