A young woman has shared the horrifying story of how her cancer was 'ignored' by doctors for eight months despite her awful symptoms.
TikToker Hannah has shared her experience to raise awareness of what happened, and has stressed the importance of seeking a second opinion.
After trying to get help multiple times after she experienced a range of symptoms, Hannah said she was ignored for nearly a year by her GP as she sarcastically said they are 'not the best of friends'.
Eventually, she was diagnosed with stage four cancer after medics found a 12cm tumor that was 'pushing' on her spine in 2021.
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Hannah - who runs a travel account with her husband, Charlie - has used her platform to shine a light on her treatment by medical professionals and to raise awareness around the symptoms she suffered from ahead of her diagnosis.
Terrifyingly, Hannah revealed it took almost a year of going back and forth trying to get help before she received the devastating diagnosis as she confessed it should 'never have got that far'.
She shared: “So I was medically gas-lit for over eight months which led to a late diagnosis of stage four cancer so no, me and my GP are not the best of friends.”
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Hannah went on to detail the four symptoms she experienced: “In July of 2021, I had a cough, a fully body rash, extreme fatigue and I lost a load of weight which I thought was a total slay at the time.
“I was told to take antibiotics and come back if it doesn’t help - spoiler alert, it didn’t. I was refused an in-person appointment - pretty sure if there was a ‘hypochondriac button’ on their computer, they clicked it.”
At this point, she said she 'called repeatedly with worsening symptoms'.
Despite her desperation, Hannah says she was told to visit a local pharmacy for over-the-counter pain relief.
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But she ended up developing pneumonia in the winter as the tumor was 'pushing on [her] chest'.
Hannah says because she had been ignored so many times, she ignored the pain and tried to carry on as normal, until it reached a point where it became 'unbearable'.
She recalled how she 'ended up in A&E with a suspected heart attack' and was 'clutching [her] chest'.
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Hannah says yet more mistakes were made at this point, saying the receptionist 'put [her] down as having period pains'.
“If that doesn’t just scream ‘misogyny’, I don’t know what does,” she said.
An 'amazing' nurse then spotted her in the waiting room holding her chest, and she was found to have sepsis and a 'massive shadow' appeared on an X-ray.
Medics ordered a CT scan, which eventually revealed the horrible truth that Hannah actually had stage four cancer.
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The TikToker has been quick to praise the care she received 'after diagnosis' as 'absolutely amazing'.
Hannah has undergone eight months of chemotherapy, immunotherapy and also took part in a clinical trial.
She wrote in a caption of the video: "I was medically gaslit for 8 months… and it nearly cost me my life. I was dismissed with antibiotics, told I was dramatic, and refused scans, while a 12cm tumor was crushing my lungs and heart.
"By the time anyone listened, it was stage four cancer. Eight months of chemo later, I’m still here. But it never should have got that far.
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“This is your reminder to fight for answers. If they won’t give you a test, ask them to write it in your notes. It might save your life”.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.
Jen Thomas