Woman's Health Concerns Dismissed Before Cancer Diagnosis
- Lily Whitmarsh, a young British woman, experienced symptoms of leukemia months before her diagnosis, but her loved ones dismissed her as being dramatic.
- If you’re experiencing cancer symptoms, it’s crucial to always advocate for yourself and seek out medical attention. Early detection can be key to saving your life.
- You should always get a second and third opinion. Different doctors may interpret your symptoms differently, so it’s key that you make sure your diagnosis is correct.
“I remember that one day at work, my legs ached so much, I couldn’t sit still and was on the brink of tears at the time my colleagues just thought I was being a drama queen!” Whitmarsh said.
She finally sought medical help after finding massive bruises in her mouth and arms, and in the summer of 2019, she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). She had months of difficult chemotherapy treatments and a bone marrow transplant, all of which paid off: she was recently declared cancer-free.
Related: What Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Patients Should Expect During A Bone Marrow Transplant
“Looking back, I have every symptom in the book, but I thought I was overreacting too.”
Lily’s story is a powerful reminder to be vigilant about your own health. You know yourself better than anyone, and it’s critical that you are willing to seek medical help when you’re experiencing symptoms that might be cancer.
Advocate for Yourself
Whether you are currently fighting cancer or fearing that you might have it, it’s incredibly important to be your own advocate. Cancer is a life-and-death situation, and you have every right to demand that your doctors get to the bottom of any symptom that’s worrying you.
When working with your medical team, tell them exactly what you are feeling and raise anything that may feel off to you. Every symptom should have a plan in place to address it, and if you feel like you are not being heard, continue to push and seek a second opinion if your concerns are not being addressed.
The only way to know this is to continue to push for answers, telling your medical team exactly what you are experiencing and demanding that you receive the best treatment for your specific situation.
“Every appointment you leave as a patient, there should be a plan for what the doc is going to do for you, and if that doesn’t work, what the next plan is,” Dr. Zuri Muriell, Director of the Cedars-Sinai Colorectal Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. “And I think that that’s totally fair. And me as a health professional– that’s what I do for all of my patients.”
Be Pushy, Be Your Own Advocate… Don't Settle
Get a Second Opinion
If you’re experiencing symptoms that might be caused by cancer, it’s critical to know for certain whether or not you have the disease. To do that, you should always get multiple opinion on your diagnosis.
Related: Second Opinions on Your Cancer Diagnosis or Treatment: Do You Need One?
Doctors are not always in agreement about whether your symptoms might merit further testing and whether certain treatment methods might work best for you. Sometimes, what your first doctor says might fall short of fact, and a second or third medical professional might be able to catch cancer before it grows and spreads.
Dr. Steven Rosenberg, Chief of Surgery at the National Cancer Institute and one of the most renowned cancer doctors in America, agrees.
“If I had any advice for you following a cancer diagnosis, it would be, first, to seek out multiple opinions as to the best care, because finding a doctor who is up to the latest of information is important,” Rosenberg previously told SurvivorNet. “And it’s always important to get other opinions so that you can make the best decisions for yourself in consultation with your care providers.”
Cancer Research Legend Urges Patients to Get Multiple Opinions
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