Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

This is the man who popped a tiny rice grain-like ‘pimple’ only to learn it was actually a festering cancerous tumour growing to the size of an egg as seen in this image.

Mr Xie, from the city of Yangjiang in China’s southern province of Guangdong, tried to get rid of the growth on his head like a regular zit two months ago, his family members explained.

The 51-year-old’s daughter recalled: “In the beginning it was about the size of a toothpick tip. My father thought it was a zit, so he popped it.

“His hands may have had bacteria on them, because it became inflamed.”

The following day, the ‘pimple’ burst, and began to fester and swell.

Mr Xie’s family members said it grew to the size of a bird egg within a few short days.

He sought medical attention with Doctor Huang Zhiquan, of Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital in the nearby city of Zhongshan.

The medic said: “The growth was bleeding and festering, and it caused the patient a lot of pain.

“We diagnosed him with squamous cell carcinoma, a common form of malignant skin tumour.”

Doctors decided that the best course of treatment was immediate surgery, but operating on Mr Xie’s tumour would be tricky due to its location.

Doctor Huang said: “It was growing at the base of his nose, right between his eyes.

“Any errors in surgery could’ve damaged his nerves and left him unable to shut his eyes.”

Medics removed the tumour from Mr Xie’s forehead before replacing the missing skin with a free flap tissue transfer from his upper arm.

The hospital said Mr Xie was discharged after six days.

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