Published on Sep 8, 2016 <br />She was the world’s tallest woman, but she had a tragically short life. <br />Yao Defen, who measured a gigantic 7ft 8in (2.36m), passed away last month aged just 40, it emerged today. <br />At her peak, she also weighed over 31st (200kg) and had size 26ft. <br /> <br />She reportedly died on the morning of November 13 in her hometown of Zhucheng, eastern China. <br />Born in 1972, Yao developed gigantism due to a tumour on her pituitary gland. By the age of 15, she stood at over two metres tall. <br />While playing for her school’s basketball team, she fainted on court and had to undergo a medical examination. <br /> <br />Doctors then discovered the tumour, which was releasing too much growth hormone and causing excessive growth in her bones. <br />Yao, the world's tallest woman, was 10cm taller than massive NBC Chinese basketball player Yao Ming <br />In 2006, it was removed and Yao finally stopped growing. The tumour returned the following year but her family couldn't afford further surgery. <br /> <br /> <br />A neighbour recalled how on the morning of Yao's death, her widowed mother came running out of the family house . <br />The woman, named only as Zhang, reportedly said: 'It was 9am in the morning, just after breakfast, when her mother shouted that the girl was hurt. <br />'People immediately rushed over to their home. I saw Yao lying on the bed – she wasn’t breathing. <br />'Later, her sister arrived and the doctor soon confirmed her death. Her sad mother cried then fainted.'
