A young woman claims she diagnosed herself with cancer at 26 after doctors believed her extremely itchy skin just needed moisturiser.
Sumbul Ari took matters into her own hands after struggling with extreme symptoms for 11 months straight, where she was “itching herself to death”.
The 26-year-old said it felt like things were crawling in her skin, with the extreme itching causing her to not get a full night’s sleep in seven months.
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Despite being deeply concerned by extreme itchiness of her skin – doctors told her that is most likely ‘dry skin’ and she just needs to ‘moisturise’.
But Sumbul knew something more sinister was at play, and turned online for answers, where she was horrified to match her symptoms with a form of cancer – which doctors later confirmed.
“The first doctor I went to for the itching told me to moisturise my skin and it’s probably just dry skin,” Sumbul, from Cairns, Australia, told Need To Know.
“I experienced uncontrollable itching everyday and got worse at night – it would keep me up for hours.
“I hadn’t had a full night’s sleep for seven months straight.
“I would scratch myself with sharp objects, and no medication, cream or antihistamines would help.
“Doctors put it down to dry skin, scabies, eczema.”
On top of the extreme itching Sumbul also experienced constant night sweats, chronic fatigue and a loss of appetite.
But due to advice from her doctors she believed it may have been caused by products she was using at home.
However, none of this stopped the itching which left her stumped until she felt a lump appear on her neck.
Sumbul said: “I randomly touched my neck and felt a lump.
“When I did my Google search, the symptoms came up – itchy skin, fatigue, night sweats.
“I knew instantly I had cancer.”
Following her Google search, Sumbul believed that she had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, after all her symptoms matched.
On the 4 March, the event content creator visited a doctor and spoke directly with them about her concerns.
In a flood of tears, caused by frustration and fear, she listed all of the things she had been treated for and all of the symptoms she had before begging for an ultrasound.
A few weeks later on 17 March, her worst fears came true after receiving an official diagnosis from the haematologist.
Sumbul said: “After I received my ultrasound result, which confirmed multiple enlarged lymph nodes in the neck, the doctor urged me to go to the hospital.
“A CT scan was done and doctors at the hospital confirmed more enlarged lymph nodes across my chest and neck.
“They said they highly suspect lymphoma, so I had a biopsy and PET scan done the following week and got my official diagnosis on 17 March.”
Sumbul’s cancer was caught between stage two and three with enlarged lymph nodes found on her neck, chest – which had also spread to her spleen.
At this moment in time, the 26-year-old has finished one round of chemotherapy and has five more to go.
She said: “I was so relieved because I’d finally felt that someone listened to me.
“I knew that I was finally on the right path of having an itch-free day and getting a good night’s sleep.
“For seven months, I woke up every single night to itch myself to death.
“If you know there is something wrong with you, please do not stop advocating for yourself.”
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