'Cancer' patient grows pea plant in his lung

'Cancer' patient grows pea plant in his lung

www.telegraph.co.uk

A patient who feared he had cancer was told he had grown a pea plant which had sprouted leaves in his lung.

Ron Sveden, a retired teacher from Brewster, Massachusetts, in the US, had been short of breath for months and was taken to hospital in May.

Doctors found a grainy spot on an X-ray and he prepared himself for a diagnosis of cancer.

The 75-year-old said: "I was told I had a pea seed in my lung that had split and had sprouted. It is probably about a half-an-inch which is a pretty big thing."

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What the fudge?

I seriously did not even think this was possible, and it is quite a miraculous story. I thought I would bring it to the attention of ATS purely because it is so weird and rare.

My favourite bit;

"One of the first meals I had in hospital after the surgery had peas for the vegetable. I laughed to myself and ate them."



www.telegraph.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

I heard about this this morning, quite a crazy story and ver very rare apparently. Still must have been a relief to find out it wasn't cancer, put me off eating peas actually

reply to post by woodwardjnr


Ha ha yeah, I was never the biggest fan of them before, although apparently the doctors could not decide whether it was a pea or a bean!

They rushed to get some soil to put the sprout in after surgery. I wonder if it continued to grow...

reply to post by Big Raging Loner

So my mother was wrong, you can grow a tree inside you.

You lied when i was three mum.

[edit on 12-8-2010 by Nofoolishness]

Crazy stuff

I remember years ago a story about a man who had a tomato plant growing in his mouth, seemingly he had eaten tomato shortly after having a back tooth removed and a seed had lodged in his gum and started to grow.

reply to post by cazzy2211


That is just too freaky!

I would have thought there would be more cases of seeds growing around the colon area. Sorry to gross everyone out btw. Just occurred to me there now, a seed with tough casing ends up lodged in the.. eh hem area, and it has it's own endless supply of fertiliser?

Probably not too likely with the ole sphincter muscles, but still, I wonder if it's possible.

You have a point there but I don't think i'm gonna elaborate lol.

It makes me laugh though, I grow my own veg and tend the plants like they were babies with the right mix of soil/compost, the right amount of light/shade, keeping the temperature right, feeding regularly............ the list goes on.

And then come stories like these, or the couple of seeds you drop when sowing that grow better than the ones you nursed.

But but... how?!! there is no sunlight so photosynthesis can't happen meaning the plant can't produce ATP used to fuel growth so the cells can't grow. Biology and science are right they have to be... *rocks back and forth* maybe the creationists were right... Oh unless its stealing energy kinda like a parasite... that's kinda cool.

reply to post by Big Raging Loner


Oh no, that's really actually common stuff. Most of the time it happens with fungus. I had a friend who actually started growing fungus in her lungs after breathing in spores. These type of things tend to occur with people who have compromised immune systems or lung disorders such as Asthma.

Well that settles it, no more swallowing watermelon seeds for me

Whoa. That's just pea-nutty! What a relief that must have been.

Happened before, and much worse than half an inch, much worse.

Artyom Sidorkin

www.dailymail.co.uk...

www.google.com...

reply to post by antonia

Yes, fungus can grow anywhere on you or inside you if your immune system can't fight it off. It is a gruesome and most foul way to die. But it's not the same as plants, they are bigger and require more conditions while fungi can grow in most unusual places.

I've heard of people "inhaling" their food, but that was always in a figurative context. This poor guy took that saying too literally!

Here's a story about a guy that had a tree growing in his lungs:

www.foxnews.com...

So, this kind of things is not common; yet it is not unheard of either.

ETA: here is an x-ray image of the tree in the lungs:

i.dailymail.co.uk...

[edit on 12-8-2010 by Aggie Man]

His wife Nancy added: "God has such a sense of humour. I mean it could have been just nothing, but it had to be a pea, and it had to be sprouting."

Scaring a 75 year old geezer thinking he has cancer and having him go through terrible ordeals and pains is indeed a great prank to pull on anyone.

religious folks... you gotta love 'em :')

Never heard of a plant/tree being able to grow inside a body before!

Have heard of mold/fungus's growing in nasal cavities (How Fungus Can Grow in the Sinus Cavities) and peoples lungs (Fungal Infection Of The Lungs) before though.

[edit on 8/12/2010 by Keyhole]

Thanks for the replies folks! Quite a few people have mentioned the fungus that finds human hosts particularly inviting.

Having lived in a house with a serious damp problem for a few years I have experienced the horrors of repeated lung infections. Pretty damn nasty, can make you feel generally run down and depressed too!

I think there was an article recently discussing how Brittany Murphy's death may have been linked in part to damp in their property. Just a theory of course but still quite a scary thought!

Links to the Brittany Murphy story;

www.telegraph.co.uk...

news.sky.com... 007415671512?lpos=Showbiz_News_Second_World_News_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15671512_Brittany_Murphys_Mother_Says_Her_And_Husband_Simon_Monja cks_Deaths_Not_Linked_To_Toxic_Mould

www.examiner.com...