Cynthia Bailey has shared a photo of the tumor she had removed from her back last year.
The Real Housewives of Atlanta star took to Instagram to share a picture of the benign mass inside a plastic tub filled with liquid.
‘Woke up feeling so blessed and full of gratitude this morning,’ the 52-year-old wrote in the caption.
‘I do not take my life, or my health for granted. I choose to focus on the things that are healthy for my mind, body, spirit and soul.’
Real Housewives of Atlanta star Cynthia Bailey, 52 (left and right) has shared a photo of the tumor she had removed from her back. At the beginning of last year, she noticed a lump on her left shoulder blade but assumed it was a bug bite or back fat
After it continued to grow, she went to her doctor. In March 2018, she was diagnosed with a lipoma, a non-cancerous tumor made of fat tissue. Pictured: Bailey’s tumor
In the same post, Bailey also shared a photo of herself at a gala with her surgery scar on her back covered by a bandage.
The Instagram post, which has been liked nearly 40,000 times since it was shared on Friday, was immediately flooded with comments from fans who shared well-wishes.
‘So encouraging. Thank [you] for sharing [your] testimony with us,’ wrote one user.
‘What an inspiring post…thanks for reminding us that life is a blessing and it’s oftentimes not long enough,’ another commented.
Bailey told PEOPLE that she first noticed the lump near her left shoulder blade at the beginning of last year.
‘At first I thought I had been bitten by something, or it was just back fat,’ she said. ‘A couple of weeks later, I noticed that it was still there and seemed to be growing.’
She raised her concerns with her doctor, who told her – after performing several tests and scans – that she had a lipoma, a tumor made of fat tissue.
‘I was scared because as soon as I heard the word “tumor”, I immediately thought cancer,’ she told PEOPLE.
‘I Googled it immediately, and was blown away by the photos of the worst cases in particular.’
Lipomas are non-cancerous and can occur almost anywhere in the body. Lipomas don’t have to be removed, but can be if they’re painful or patients are concerned about their physical appearance. Pictured: Bailey with her surgical star covered by a bandage.
Bailey underwent surgery to have it removed in April 2018 and said the procedure was tricky because the mass was deeply embedded in her back. Pictured, left to right: Real Housewives of Atlanta stars Kenya Moore, Cynthia Bailey, Shamea Morton, Phaedra Parks, Sheree Whitfield, Porsha Stewart, unknown, and Tammy McCall Browning
However, lipomas are benign – or non-cancerous – and can occur almost anywhere in the body.
They’re usually found just below the skin and are most common on the neck, shoulders, abdomen and back.
Although they can affect all ages, lipomas usually form in people between the ages of 40 and 60.
Experts are unsure of what causes them, but believe it may be due to an inherited faulty gene or physical trauma.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, lipomas are common and occur in one in every 1,000 people.
Doctors may not recommend treatment and instead suggest that a lipoma be monitored.
However, they can be removed if they cause pain or if patients are considered about their physical appearance.
In April 2018, Bailey opted to undergo surgery to have the tumor removed.
‘Surgery went well, however it went much longer than expected because the tumor was embedded very deeply in my back and partially under a muscle,’ she told The Daily Dish at the time.
The surgery, called an excision, involves a local anesthetic which is injected around the area where the tumor is to numb it.
After that, the surgeon makes a small incision in the skin and cuts the lipoma out.