A young woman says she has been left with her life “stripped away” after doctors found a golf-ball-sized lump hidden in her neck.
Becky Bowes, from Swindon, visited her GP for a rash but had no idea that this would uncover a heartbreaking diagnosis.
The mass that the medic found had gone unnoticed for five years due to its positioning.
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Twenty-five-year-old Becky was stunned to hear she had papillary thyroid cancer and that it had spread to her lungs.
“This ongoing battle has stripped my entire life away,” Becky, who is currently unemployed, told Need To Know.
“I struggle a lot seeing other people my age, going out and living their lives, whereas I can’t do the most basic things.
“I’m not a normal 25-year-old.
“I’m stuck doing nothing – and if I do push myself too far, then I end up bed-bound.
“I couldn’t believe that it [the lump] had been there so long, and I didn’t notice.
“The doctors told me a couple of times that it was unlikely to be cancer – though I knew, deep down, that it was.”
Becky underwent surgery to remove her thyroid and 22 lymph nodes, of which 13 tested positive for the cancer, as well as two different doses of radioactive iodine to monitor the spread.
Sadly, it wasn’t successful, and she received another course of radioactive iodine treatment and had to recover in a lead-lined room for three days.
Becky has now finished treatment, though she’s since been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, which has left her unable to cope without a lengthy nap per day.
She has also put on a “considerable” amount of weight, which has had a significant toll on her mental health.
Becky said: “Now, I feel completely numb.
“When my scar [from surgery] was fresh, I definitely got a lot of looks.
“Now, though, it’s super faded, so no one really notices it unless I point it out.
“[But] I’ve put on a considerable amount of weight and my legs are covered in stretch marks.
“It’s not something I’m comfortable talking about, as it affects my confidence a lot.
“My biggest fear is that I will get a secondary cancer or that I won’t be able to have kids.
“I get my bloods checked every six months to ensure the cancer marker hasn’t gone up.
“Though I’m suppressing my thyroid-stimulating hormone to ensure this.”
Prior to her diagnosis, Becky had been suffering with depression – one of the main symptoms associated with papillary thyroid cancer – which she had spoken to doctors about.
She was prescribed antidepressants, but claims no other checks were carried out, despite her repeatedly saying the medication wasn’t working.
As the lump was hidden, she had no reason to check her neck.
Becky added: “I feel very let down by the doctors for not doing further tests before putting me on antidepressants.
“If this had been done, the chances are my cancer wouldn’t have spread.
“And I wouldn’t have had to do extra treatment.
“It’s hard to say, but there’s a possibility my quality of life would be different.
“Just go to the doctors and get checked out.
“It’s not worth ignoring the symptoms or lumps.
“And if you’re not being taken seriously, ask to see another doctor before it’s too late.”
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