Cancer Survivors Are Sharing Their First Cancer Symptoms, And As A Hypochondriac, I Am Calling My PCP Immediately

17.

“I got sick one weekend: fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes in my neck. By Monday, I felt fine. The lymph node on the left side of my neck remained slightly swollen. I didn’t think much about it until months later when I had a persistent sore throat. It didn’t hurt much, just like when you wake up after snoring all night. You get a drink of water, and the pain goes away. Except it didn’t.”

“So I went to an ear, nose, and throat specialist, who scoped me and said something was going on there, so he sent me for a scan. Then he sent me for a scan with contrast. Then he sent me for a biopsy, and I learned I had throat cancer.

After a few months of daily radiation treatments, chemo every other week, and one last scan, I was told the throat cancer was in remission. Yay!

But, I was told, something in my lower abdomen bore looking into. A couple of colonoscopies and a biopsy later, and I learned I had colon cancer. The throat cancer hadn’t spread — it was just an independent development. The colon cancer was resolved with surgery. No radiation or chemo was needed.

I had several years of clean follow-up testing, and all was well.

… Moral of the story: GET IT CHECKED!!! If the doctor pooh-poohs it, get it checked by a different doctor. Ultimately, what you do is up to you, but if you want to see your children’s graduations, walk your little girl down the aisle, and hold your grandchildren in your arms someday…just get it checked.”

—u/Adddicus