Featured Image Credit: Kennedy
Topics: Cancer, Health, US News, Mental Health
Liv Bridge
A mom who shrugged off pain for 'sitting too long' at her desk was devastated when she was diagnosed with stage three cancer.
Courtney Liniewski, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, first realized she was unwell when her neck swelled up on the first night of her vacation with her husband in Mexico in February 2022.
"It wasn't painful or anything, it was this palpable lump on my neck, like I had an allergic reaction to something," she recalled. "I started having difficulty breathing that week - I couldn't walk up or down the stairs and I had a lot of chest pain."
The 34-year-old decided to get checked out with a doctor as soon as she arrived home - and was urgently rushed in for a CT scan.
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Medics then broke the horrific news that the mom had a 'grapefruit-sized tumor' in her chest, spanning a whopping 11cm, and diagnosed her with stage three three follicular lymphoma.
"I was hysterical for most of that time, I did a lot of crying and panicking," Courtney said when she was given a diagnosis.
"I was thinking the worst."
In less than a fortnight, she was having gruelling chemotherapy sessions. Fortunately, she was given the all clear months later in July that year.
Now, the mental health councillor is raising awareness to the one symptom she brushed off which all started at the end of 2021. Courtney said for months, she dismissed the pain as simple back ache from 'sitting down for too long' at her desk.
"I was experiencing intermittent back pain but it was really sharp and intense," she explained. "It was right below my shoulder blades, in the mid sternum area in my back.
"I just thought I wasn't moving enough and I was being lazy.
"I was sat down a lot for my job and I was at my desk most of the day."
Her symptoms then increased in January, but didn't seem to be connected.
Courtney continued: "I started losing hearing in my left ear every night and my nose was always running and it wouldn't stop.
"I was just experiencing weird symptoms but nothing consistent and nothing that added up that something was really wrong."
Courtney still has regular appointments with her oncologist as she fears the cancer could return, even after recently celebrating her three-year cancer-free anniversary.
"It was a great feeling that they told me when I was cancer free but I was still also scared.
"Due to how aggressive the cancer was it's basically guaranteed to come back at some point, but I haven't required any additional treatment since."
The mom is now hoping others who might face unusual red flags with their health to get checked out.
Courtney concluded: "You can't stop pushing for it [a diagnosis] because cancer care has come a long way and people are surviving cancer significantly more than they used to.
"I think people should know that it's okay to advocate for yourself if something is wrong."