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Tanya Angus Has Acromegaly, Like Richard Kiel and Andre the Giant
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by cyn.khoo | June 23, 2009 at 02:59 pm
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Tanya Angus suffers from a rare disease called acromegaly, or gigantism. After waiting ten years between first discovering symptoms and confirming her disease, due to dismissive misdiagnoses from various doctors, Angus went to NBC News and told her story to Michael Okwu on Tuesday, June 23.
It is, she said, “to let others know that it’s out there. It could be hidden, and you wouldn’t even know it until it crawls up on you. You start looking different. It’s easier to catch if you know the symptoms.”
Angus was 5' 11'' and 115 pounds at age 20, when she first noticed symptoms of what would turn out to be gigantism, or acromegaly. She sufferred migraines and no longer fit into her clothing or shoes. No doctors took her complaints seriously until Angus returned home to Las Vegas, where her sister took her to see a family friend who was a pediatrician and was able to recognize the condition immediately.
Angus has undergone gigantism treatment by removing her tumour through surgery multiple times, but it continues to grow back. Today, she is 6' 6'' and weighs 480 pounds.
Acromegaly, or gigantism, may also be known as pituitary gigantism, as the condition occurs when the pituitary gland produces and secretes excessive amounts of human growth hormone (HGH) into the body. Where Angus is concerned, the main cause of gigantism was a brain tumour that had wrapped itself around her pituitary gland, causing the latter to overproduce HGH.
In addition to severely inordinate growth in the hands, feet, and body, other gigantism symptoms consist of enlargement of facial features, headaches, pain in the joints, soft tissue swelling, and fatigue.
Additional symptoms (and their associated frequency) can vary and may be presented through ... loss of vision, carpal tunnel syndrome, skin changes, excessive sweating, snoring, tingling in the arms and legs, impotence and absence of menstruation.
Acromegaly affects at least four in one million people each year in its full-blown form. Gigantism treatment methods include surgery and drugs, though their effectiveness varies.
Other known public figures with the condition include Richard Kiel, who played Jaws in the James Bond movie franchise, and Andrew the Giant, the pro-wrestler who also starred in the film The Princess Bride.
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at 06:25 on June 24th, 2009
I too had acromegaly, but I saw the changes and my tumor was wrapped around the optic chiasm and lucky for me I go to Bascom Palmer Eye Institute part of University of Miami and Dr. John Flynn was able to detect the problem with Visual Fields then a CT scan as they at that time 1985 were not doing MRI's of the brain. The CT showed the tumor and blood work done showed the excessive growth hormone. I had my first brain surgery 1985 Dr. Larry Page, UM took the tumor and left the pitutitary gland. The growth hormone numbers did not go down, then an MRI was done and the rest of the tumor was seen. I had a second brain surgery in 1988 and after the surgery he said he couldn't get it all and I would have to undergo radiation. I did that in 1990 (sterotactic radiation) and after 10 years the growth hormone is normal and I have no signs of acromegaly. You need to be pro-active about your health. I also was told I was a hypocondriac because I complained of headaches! Again you must be pro-active! That's my story....