lump in stomach

i have had a lump in the middle of my stomach for about 15yrs. The doctor told me it was a fatty deposit and nothing to worry about. Over the years, it has grown bigger. It began as the size of a pea, and is now about the size of a 10p. Today, i have noticed that the area aound the middle of the left hand side of my stomach is slightly tender and i can feel a large patch of tissue underneath the skin that feels slightly "crackly". I do have IBS and sometimes bleed (the blood is bright red & the doctor said it was haemorroids). I just need my mind putting at rest. Thank you

The only way to have your mind put at rest is have this checked by a doc. It would be wise to have it checked after so many years to see why it has grown, how much it has grown, whether it was really a fatty deposit and to make sure that nothing else grew besides.

My father also has fatty deposits in the gastrointestinal tract, somewhere around the esophagus, stomach, and small intestine. He was told that these are just benign (non-cancerous) tumors and almost never turn to cancer. He was told he could have them removed for cosmetcal reasons if he wanted it to. Other reasons for removal include growing lipomas, especially if they grow to be bigger than 5 cm, if they become symptomatic, or for biopsy. My father decided just to leave them as they are since he had no (many) problems with them. Consult your doc and see what s/he has to say about it.