Woman, 23, shares urgent message after claiming doctors mistook stage 4 cancer for being 'tall'
Gerrard Kaonga
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy
A woman from Pennsylvania has recalled her grueling experience of trying to get doctors to address the serious pain she was suffering due to cancer that had initially been misdiagnosed.
Brooke Bailey from Northampton, Pennsylvania, US has said she was misdiagnosed with tendonitis and was told to do physio by her doctors when in actuality the situation was considerably more severe.
The 23-year-old had started working at a nail salon in March 2025 but soon developed a pain in her left hip.
Doctors then diagnosed her with tendonitis after the pain worsened but Bailey has said that she felt it was something more.
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She then went to multiple doctors to get a second opinion and eventually the pain got so severe that she could not do the physiotherapy and a doctor opted for an MRI scan.
After the scans, it was revealed that Bailey actually had two tumors, one in her femur and one in her groin, and she was diagnosed with stage four Ewing sarcoma, a type of soft tissue cancer.
This came as quite a shock as doctors had initially suggested she may be experiencing these issues because she was tall and sitting in a nail salon chair all day.
Speaking of the pain she dealt with and the doctor's comments, she said: "In the beginning it was more of an aching, throbbing, on-and-off type of pain.
"Then as time went on, it was radiating and getting worse. It went through my whole leg even down to my ankle.
"Some days were worse than others and I tried to figure out what was triggering it but at the time I didn't know what it was. Some days the pain would be a three and others it would be a seven.
"The doctors had mentioned that it could be because of my job. They said 'you're young and you're tall, maybe it's your job'."
Now that she is getting chemotherapy for her tumors, Bailey has insisted it is important for people considering getting a second opinion on their health if they feel their complaints are being misdiagnosed.
Despite the seriousness of the condition, Bailey also said she was relieved to now have a full diagnosis and know what she is dealing with.
Bailey is set to undergo six rounds of chemotherapy and in the new year she will be assessed to see if she requires surgery to remove the tumors.
Bailey added: "I've learned that you really are your biggest advocate for yourself and if you don't like what somebody says, go see somebody else. I wish that's what I had done.
"You are your person and you need to take care of yourself.
"If that means seeing a different doctor because you don't like what the first one said to you then so be it.”