The man whose neck is as nearly wide as his shoulders: Chinese patient faces life with huge tumour because his family is too poor to pay for it to be removed Wang Zhixiang, from Jilin province, China, has huge tumour around his neck His neck started to thicken after he had hormone treatment in 2005 The lump is a lipoma - a benign tumour caused by overgrowth of fat cells He needs to have it removed but his family cannot afford the proceedure A Chinese man faces spending the rest of his life with a huge tumour around his neck because his family cannot afford to pay for it to be removed. Wang Zhixiang, from Jilin city, Jilin province, has such a tumour that his neck has grown to be almost as wide as his shoulders. He believes that the problem started when he was involved in an accident in 2005. Wang Zhixiang, from Jilin city, Jilin province, has such a large neck tumour that his neck has grown to be almost as wide as his shoulders Mr Zhixiang believes his problems started when he was involved in an accident in 2005 He spent time in hospital and he received a course of hormone therapy. From that point onwards, his neck started to grow thicker and thicker and he has now been diagnosed with lipoma - a benign tumour. However, while the tumour is benign, it has recently started to spread around his body and it is now affecting his back, legs, arms and stomach. Therefore, he desperately needs surgery to remove the tumour but his family is too poor to pay for the procedure. A lipoma is a soft, fatty lump that grows under the skin, normally on the shoulders, neck, chest, arms or back. While the tumour is benign, it has recently started to spread around his body and it is now affecting his back, legs, arms and stomach He desperately needs surgery to remove the tumour but his family is too poor to pay for the procedure The non-cancerous tumours which affect one in a hundred people are harmless and can often be left alone. However, lipomas need to be removed if they are causing discomfort or if they are particularly large, like Mr Zhixiang's. They are normally only between one and three centimetres in diameter and are caused by an overgrowth of fat cells.