Woman gets unusual diagnosis after waking up with suddenly huge finger

When she woke up one morning, Stella, 48, from northern Illinois noticed an unusual swelling on the pad of her finger.

Being right-handed, she explained she has always experienced a slight bump on the inside of her finger from writing and drawing, but that day, it seemed different.

“I noticed that the usual bump was gone and had instead turned into a large swollen area on the pad of my finger,” she told Newsweek. “It seemed to appear overnight, but I think that was just because it had grown so slowly that I just never noticed it.”

Uncertain about the sudden change, Stella decided to seek medical attention and underwent an MRI scan at the hospital.

The results revealed an unexpected diagnosis: a benign tumor located on the palmar surface of the distal third phalanx of her finger, measuring 0.4 x 0.4 x 1.2 cm—which is roughly the size of a small blueberry.

The medical report suggested a few potential reasons for the unusual lump, including a fibroma—a benign tumor made up or fibrous or connective tissue, a giant cell tumor of the tendon sheath, or, less likely, a hemangioma, another benign tumor made of blood vessels or vascular tissue.

Dr. David Ring, associate dean for comprehensive care at the University of Texas at Austin and a hand surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, told Newsweek: “Bumps in the hand are very, very common. It’s very unusual for them to be cancer or anything concerning below the elbow.”

Despite most hand bumps being nothing to worry about, Ring explained it is common for people to be concerned: “It’s hard not to be a least a little worried about a bump or any abnormality. Just keep in mind that they are common and nearly always just a nuisance.”

Member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and assistant professor of surgery at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. David Colen agreed and told Newsweek: “The majority of these soft tissue masses in the fingertip arise from the tendon sheath—Giant Cell Tumor—or are an overgrowth of blood vessels—hemangioma—or connective tissue—fibroma. These are often painless, but can be inconvenient or uncomfortable.”

While all of these cases are characteristically harmless, they can sometimes cause pain.

Snapping a picture of the unusual lump on her finger, Stella decided to share the ordeal on Reddit’s r/Weird subreddit where it gained widespread interest.

“The doctor said it is nothing to worry about right now. However, if it becomes painful, then he would like to remove it,” she explained. “So as long as it doesn’t hurt, I am leaving it alone.”

Thousands of responses online revealed that many people were unaware that tumors of this kind were even possible, and Stella said she was pleased to have raised some awareness.

“I was glad that it did though because like myself, it seemed all those people never knew it was possible to get a tumor on the tip of your finger,” she said. “So, if anything, it brought awareness to the fact that tumors can indeed appear in strange places.”

Both Drs. Ring and Colen agreed that anyone concerned about lumps or bumps should monitor it and seek medical attention if they are worried.

Now, Stella’s finger is the same as it was and isn’t really causing any pain or changes in her day-to-day activities.

“I like to think thousands of people inspected their hands that day and, who knows, maybe one or two saw something they had never noticed before as well,” said Stella.

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