Standing at 6 feet 6 inches, 30-yr-old Tanya Angus has been dubbed a modern day giant. Already one of the tallest and heaviest women on the planet, she has grown taller by ten inches in just 12 years as a result of a rare growth condition.
According to doctors, Ms Angus, 30, from Nevada, is the only woman in the world whose growth cannot be halted by medication.
Suffering from a rare disease called Acromeglia, a condition often referred to as 'gigantism' where the body produces too much growth hormone, Ms Angus grew from a slender 5 feet 8 inches at the age of 18 to 6 feet 6 inches.
Miss Angus's troubles began in her late teens when she noticed that her feet, face and figure were continuing to grow at an alarming rate. She also began suffering from severe migraines, felt run down and depressed, as if she was suffering from constant flu.
Tragically, Miss Angus's figure started to transform into a man's body too. Things got worse, when her own boyfriend also asked her about her new shape and asked his mother to ask her whether she had a sex change. She became heartbroken and broke up with him.
Meanwhile, her family doctor recognised symptoms of gigantism and referred her to a specialist. At that stage, she was 6 feet 1 inch with a size of 10 feet. Reportedly, an MRI scan even showed a tumour the size of a grapefruit in her brain, which had wrapped itself around her inner carotid artery, causing an overproduction of growth hormone. It was so big, doctors said there was nothing to be done.
In 2003, she finally underwent surgery to remove most of the tumour, although small parts of it were too difficult to separate from her brain. She was then given a cocktail of drugs to try to control the huge amounts of growth hormones still in her body.
Meanwhile, her family doctor recognised symptoms of gigantism and referred her to a specialist. At that stage, she was 6 feet 1 inch with a size of 10 feet. Reportedly, an MRI scan even showed a tumour the size of a grapefruit in her brain, which had wrapped itself around her inner carotid artery, causing an overproduction of growth hormone. It was so big, doctors said there was nothing to be done.
In 2003, she finally underwent surgery to remove most of the tumour, although small parts of it were too difficult to separate from her brain. She was then given a cocktail of drugs to try to control the huge amounts of growth hormones still in her body.