The Woman With No Face | BORN DIFFERENT
Apr 08 2021
A SEVERE facial condition has left a woman in India with large hanging growths which eclipse her entire face - causing local children to be scared of her. Khadija Khatoon, 23, from Kolkata, India, has what doctors believe to be neurofibromatosis - a catch-all term for a number of genetic disorders which cause tumours to grow on nerve tissue. Khadija says when she was young the tumour was small, but it has now expanded to cover her eyes, nose and mouth. Doctors have offered her surgery, but she decided the risks were too great. Her brother Lutfar says that people often come and take photos of her in the street when she's outside without asking, but Khadija says she's come to see her tumour as part of herself. Her father Mohammad added: "Her life is full of sorrows and hardships, but she's incredibly patient with it. There's no one like her, she's the only one in the entire universe."

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