Glomus tumors are rare, benign tumors that are usually located in the skull base of the head, neck, or the middle of the ear. However, in my mother’s case, her glomus tumor was located inside her ring finger, which had a 1% to 5% chance of occurring. They are also difficult to detect due to their small size. Glomus tumors may be one of the rarest and smallest tumors, but I have learned about how much pain they can cause.
When my mother explained to me that she used to have a glomus tumor, I was perplexed because I did not know what it was. She conveyed that in 2003 before I was born, she tried to lift a dish from the sink and felt a shooting pain in her ring finger. She felt so much pain that she could not move her whole hand. She also explained that her finger felt extremely sensitive to cold water. She could not even see anything on the outside of her finger, so she could not assess why she was feeling agony in her finger.
Soon after, my mother and father drove to the doctor’s office for an MRI scan and X-ray to investigate. At the moment when they thought they would receive their answer, the doctors showed the X-ray and MRI results and explained that they could not see anything in the imaging. Confused and defeated, my parents left the doctor’s office without closure.
After the doctor's visit, my parents expressed their concerns to my grandparents, and they recommended a doctor in India to visit. In a short time, my family took a trip to India for my mother to finally receive a diagnosis. After four days of greeting grandparents and other distant relatives, the day of the doctor’s visit came. My brother wished my parents luck for a diagnosis, and hopefully a treatment as well. An hour and a half of dread and anxiety went by as he waited for them to come home. Finally, when my parents came home, they had very positive news.
My mom had received her diagnosis, and she had a glomus tumor in her ring finger. As my mother explained the diagnosis, the doctor put the tip of a push-pin on the area on her finger where it was hurting, and she had the same stinging sensation. That was when the doctor knew she had a glomus tumor. This was confirmed through a thorough X-ray of her finger. The only treatment to extract the tumor was surgery, so she went through her surgery, and her finger was back to normal by the time they arrived in the U.S. Even though it has been 21 years since her surgery, my mother still feels very grateful to that doctor. This story shows how dangerous tumors can be, no matter how small.
Written by Aanya Deshpande from MEDILOQUY