Palm Beach Gardens man survives deadly, 28-pound tumor found in abdomen. Tampa General surgeon performs nearly nine hours of surgery to remove rare sarcoma tumor.
June 30, 2025 – July is Sarcoma Awareness Month. Known as the “forgotten cancer,” sarcoma is a rare and complex disease that forms tumors in either the bones or soft tissues.
According to the Sarcoma Foundation of America, approximately 17,000 people are diagnosed with sarcoma each year in the United States, about 4,000 with bone sarcomas and 13,000 with soft tissue sarcomas. Currently, more than 50,000 patients and their families are struggling with sarcoma.
Palm Beach Gardens resident Carl Feldman is one of the lucky survivors.
In 2023, Feldman had a 28-pound sarcoma tumor removed from his abdomen by surgeons at Tampa General Hospital (TGH) during a nine-hour surgery. Feldman learned about his massive, beach ball-sized tumor in the fall of 2022 at Tampa General Hospital (TGH) Cancer Institute in Palm Beach Gardens. Dr. Vijay Narendran, medical oncologist at the TGH Cancer Institute, confirmed the tumor was liposarcoma, a rare type of malignant soft tissue tumor. Liposarcoma develops in fat tissue and is most often found in the abdominal cavity or extremities.
After diagnosing Feldman with liposarcoma, Dr. Narendran referred him to Dr. Timothy Nywening, a surgical oncologist at Tampa General Hospital, to perform the complex and nearly nine-hour surgery to remove the tumor. Upon meeting Dr. Nywening and completing several tests, Feldman was relieved to learn that the tumor was manageable and had not metastasized to any organs.
Dr. Nywening operated on Feldman in March 2023, removing the 28-pound tumor in two pieces. Following his recovery in Tampa, Feldman was able to easily transition back home to Palm Beach Gardens where his postoperative care continued with Dr. Narendran. Feldman has been cancer-free for more than two years.
Dr. Vijay Narendran specializes in gastrointestinal and hematological cancers and completed his medical school training at New York University School of Medicine. He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Timothy Nywening is with the TGH Cancer Institute at Tampa General Hospital and is an assistant professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.
Tampa General Hospital has been creating a framework of state-of-the-art services for patients in Palm Beach County and on the Treasure Coast, with the expertise and innovation of an academic health system. Tampa General’s team of experts provides residents in the Palm Beaches and on the Treasure Coast with comprehensive preventative care, advanced diagnostics, and innovative treatments, as well as access to academic medicine and complex care when patients need it most.
