87-year-old woman to have unusual 'unicorn horn' removed from head

Woman's family weary on whether surgery will be beneficial

What began as an itchy mole on the head of an 87-year-old villager in China has sprouted into a horn. The "horn" grew 13-cm long, earning her the nickname "unicorn woman" from local residents.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) - Liang Xiuzhen, an 87-year-old resident of Guiyan village in Ziyang City in south-west China's Sichuan Province, is now known as the "unicorn woman" after an abnormal growth resembling a horn overtook her head.

According to The Mirror UK, her son said she used to complain of a constant itchiness from what appeared to be a "black mole."

"My mother complained about this mole-like growth on her head that itched all the time. We found ways to cure her itch using traditional Chinese medicine, and then left it be," said her son, Wang Chaojun.

The mole eventually sprouted to nearly the size of a small finger, which Xiuzhen accidentally "broke" in February. After the break, the "horn" rapidly grew into a large mass over a period of six months.

Chaojun reported his mother's horn was painful and she had trouble sleeping. It also bled on occasion. When doctors took a look, they diagnosed the growth as "cornu cutaneum" (cutaneous horn), which is a keratinous skin tumor in the shape of a horn. Such tumors usually stay small and benign but have been known to grow much larger and be malignant.

Doctors can remove the growth, however the family was concerned whether the operation would be detrimental to her health due to her age.

"My mother is old, and the horn is on her head which is a very sensitive area. I'm not confident [with the] surgery," Chaojun said. "If something goes wrong, it would be terrible."

Pray for Liang before her surgery with us here

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