The tumour was diagnosed as a non-cancerous lipoma, a lump of fatty tissue, and although it is not life-threatening, it has disrupted Luciano’s life. It grew rapidly, and a series of delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and hospital mix-ups have left Luciano struggling with the huge growth for more than a year.

In a video, he can be seen dragging his right leg behind him with the lump so big it cannot even fit under into loose summer shorts. As he walks Luciano has to support his back with one hand because the weight of the tumour is so great.

One heart-wrenching photo shows him crying in frustration at his plight. His wife Sandra said: “We are humiliated. He is suffering, he cannot work, and no clothes fit him anymore.”

Luciano says he discovered the tumour in 2011 when he felt a bump the size of a grape on the back of his right thigh and went to the doctor. He explained: “The doctor said it was a very small lipoma and that it wasn’t worth doing surgery at that moment because it could return more aggressively.”

Instead, Luciano was sent home and told to return if the lump got bigger. By 2020 he was suffering pain but a series of tests were interrupted by the pandemic. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>

When he could finally return to seek treatment he was referred to a plastic surgeon in Praia Grande. But Luciano said: “When I got there, he said he couldn’t operate because it was too large. During the pandemic, it grew very quickly.”

By early 2024, the tumour had reached the size of a volleyball and measured 19 cm (7.4 inches) in diameter. But an MRI revealed the lipoma was pressing on the femoral artery, the second-largest blood vessel in the body and the slightest cut can cause a fatal bleed out in two minutes.

Luciano was referred to a hospital in Santa Casa de Santos where medics began a further round of months of tests. Now the operation is on hold again after Luciano was told on 1st July that funding talks with his local city hall had broken down.

His wife Sandra said: “The doctor said that Santa Casa no longer has a contract with the Praia Grande City Hall and that they were attending us because they had done so in the past, but from then on, they could do nothing more.”

Desperate Sandra told how she had asked one doctor what they would do if her husband fell ill in front of them. Shockingly, they said they would let him die because they are from Praia Grande.

City Hall officials now claim the op has been sanctioned to go ahead and the medic who told Luciano he would watch him die has been suspended, reports local media. They said: “The patient’s care will follow the established protocols with the hospital, and the resident has already been contacted to proceed with the care.”