Gigantism Sufferer and Activist Tanya Angus Dies
When Tanya Angus was a teenager, she stood at 5 feet, 8 inches tall. When she died on Monday at the age of 34 in Las Vegas, she was 7 feet, 2 inches tall and 400 pounds.
Angus suffered from the condition acromegaly – or gigantism. The condition would not let her body stop growing.
Her mother Karen Strutynski said her daughter told her she had no idea why she got the condition but God must have thought she could deal with it.
And, she certainly did – she appeared on various television specials and news, talking about how gigantism gave her constant growing pains and left her face distorted.
The condition is the consequence of an overabundance of growth hormone that resulted from a non-cancerous tumor on the pituitary gland.
Everything Angus did would be affected by the condition. She was unable to put large shirts of her head because of her inability to fit through the collar. She had her shoes specially made and jewelers increased her rings to size 20.
Her mother said, nothing has been made for giants.
Many people would judge Angus, not knowing the real cause. Many assumed she was overweight and needed the wheelchair because she had no discipline to keep the weight off. Angus ate just one meal every day and her medications would cause swelling in her face.
Before she went to the media, people were cruel, her mother said.
After she made her appearances on television, Angus became an activist for folks who suffered with the condition. She corresponded with folks from around 60 countries.
Her mother said it was her daughter’s mission to help other people get diagnosed before the disease got out of control.
While an autopsy is pending, Angus’ mother said it looks like her daughter died after she caught a cold and developed a tear in her heart.
She does plan to keep Angus’ website up and continue speaking with patients dealing with the disease.
Strutynski said her daughter’s work is too important to just let it end.
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