Ficus Problem

[Cassandra~*]

I inherited a ficus a couple of days ago.  
Problem:
It has a huge (size of half an apple) growth coming off of the trunk. 
It
seems to be a woody like growth.  It has had it for a long time.  The
tree continues to grow, there is plenty of new growth.
The question is what do I do about it.  I want to get rid of it.  My
thought was to saw it off and spray is with something like Lysol to
prevent further infection.  So far, I have taken quite a bit off of it
and sprayed it down with 50/50 H2O & alcohal.  Anyone have any
suggestions??  I'd like to know what it is and what caused it.

Thanks,
Cassandra~*