Warning: This article contains graphic images and descriptions which some readers may find distressing.
A man heartbreakingly told how he ‘felt like a monster’ and subsequently became a recluse while living with an enormous tumour on the back of his head.
For more than a decade, Arlin, from California, lived with the ‘cantaloupe-sized’ growth which continued to swell, seeing him hide away from the world as he felt so self-conscious about it.
He dropped out of school as a teenager to escape the cruel taunts from bullies, while also cutting ties with his friends due to the embarrassment he felt about the lump leaking fluid, blood and pus.
It also had such a foul smell that one of his nurses almost fainted – but unfortunately for Arlin, he couldn’t find a doctor who could help him and he did not have any medical insurance to fund his treatment.
As a result, he spent over ten years hiding himself away.
That was until the 33-year-old met head and neck specialist Dr Ryan Osborne, who completely changed Arlin’s life with his expertise, leaving viewers of TLC’s Take My Tumor reaching for the tissues while tuning in.
Arlin had a ‘cantaloupe-sized’ tumour on the back of his head for more than a decade (TLC)
The tumour is a result of a condition called hidradenitis suppurativa, which the NHS describes as a ‘painful, long-term skin condition that causes skin abscesses and scarring on the skin’.
Symptoms of it vary, but it causes a mixture of boil-like lumps, blackheads, cysts, scarring and channels in the skin that leak pus, which usually crop up near hair follicles where there are sweat glands.
This proved to be quite a nightmare for Arlin in particular, as he also suffers from anhidrosis, which is a rare condition that prevents sweat glands from producing sweat – so he had to wear a fan around his neck to cool down.
He also told Dr Osborne his growth would routinely leak fluid so he was forced to put towels around his neck to protect his clothing, while he also disguised the lump underneath a beanie hat.
The 33-year-old had visited numerous doctors but couldn’t find one willing to remove the growth (TLC)
In the episode which originally aired in May this year, the medic was seen taking a closer look at the huge mass on the back of his patient’s head, while detailing his plan of action to get rid of it.
The surgeon explained: “Phase one is just getting this off, because this is pretty sizeable and it’s a lot of weight – at a certain point, you’re going to have cervical spine problems.
“Your head is constantly propped forward, we’ve got to straighten that back up. The first leg of this race is to get this off.
“That’s going to be a large portion of skin coming off of the back of the scalp and and the neck. We can’t just leave that raw back there, it’s too big of an area and it’s going to get infected.”
To avoid this issue, he explained they would be taking a skin graft from Arlin’s stomach before transplanting it on the back of his head to take the tumour’s place, which he warned would require ‘a lot’ of stitches.
There was also no guarantee the surgery would be successful – but the 33-year-old said he ‘couldn’t wait’ to get it done and added that he was ‘confident’ Dr Osborne could carry it out.
But while watching Arlin’s story on Take My Tumor, viewers couldn’t help but ponder one thing… ‘why had he waited so long’ to get rid of the huge growth.
Dr Ryan Osborne did an incredible job on Arlin (TLC)
And thankfully, Arlin’s mother Jaqueline answered that question for those who are curious.
She revealed that the family couldn’t afford any specialist treatment, telling cameras: “It’s not like we wanted it to get this big, but we couldn’t get the help we needed and so it grew.
“It’s hard to see anybody you love in pain or going through what they are going through. He might die. What’s at stake right now is his life.”
Incredibly, Arlin’s surgery went off without a hitch, despite Dr Osborne describing it as a ‘hygienic mess’.
Dr Osborne explained that the skin graft had ‘taken by 85 percent’, which was brilliant, especially considering the wound is ‘not a flat surface’ and has a ‘lot of nooks and crannies’.
Arlin was overjoyed with the results and explained he had been ‘doing a lot better’ since the operation.
“I’ve been having more energy, less pain, less depression,” he smiled. “The surgery, it’s been a a big life change for me.
“It’s a huge relief not having to feel a lot of pain or having to worry about fluid getting on my shirts or anything, having to wear beanies. When my head is fully healed I want to start doing more things.
“Go back to school, get a job. I’m looking forward to having this thing completely healed and finally be done with it.”
Safe to say, viewers were absolutely ecstatic for him too.
One said: “His face speaks volumes. It’s like you can see his mind processing that this is going to become a reality.”
Another wrote: “I’m so happy for him. He has a new life. Great job Dr.”
While someone else commented: “Wow look at the smile on his face! He deserves it. I’m so glad the doctor could help him.”
