Englishwoman Maia Henderson-Roe (24) thought her symptoms were caused by psychological problems after the death of a pet. However, when she noticed an unusual swelling on her neck, she visited a doctor. , not long after, she was diagnosed with malignant cancer.
- Maia Henderson-Roe suffers from Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
- At first, she mistook her symptoms for the emotional stress of losing a pet.
- Tests revealed numerous lumps on the chest and neck.
- Maia underwent intensive treatment and is currently awaiting the results of the check-up.
She suffered from a number of symptoms
Maia from the English city of Nottingham discovered her first lump on her neck in March of this year, which was the size of a golf ball. She knew that her lymph nodes swelled when she was stressed or sick. Therefore, she assumed that the swelling would disappear over time. “One of our guinea pigs died very suddenly. I was quite sad about it and started to feel chilly and tired. Since everything happened so quickly, I attributed my symptoms to this tragedy“, she stated.
But a month later, she found two more lumps, which forced her to seek help. “I made an appointment with the doctor. She examined my lumps and asked if I had lost weight or if I was suffering from night sweats. I said no. Based on this, she concluded that I had nothing to fear,” says Maia. Another symptom was constant itchy skin. “Since I have sensitive skin, I thought my shower gel was to blame. In the end, it got to the point where I scratched my legs because they kept itching,” she added.
She was diagnosed with cancer
In the summer, Maia noticed other worrying symptoms. She felt constant cold even though it was warm outside and started falling asleep in public places. “My neck swelled up a lot and I couldn’t move my head properly,” she explained. She therefore visited an otorhinolaryngologist, who, according to her, should have assured her that she had nothing to fear. “He thought it might be an infection. He was sure it wasn’t cancer“, she added.
Since her condition did not improve, she was sent for an ultrasound. Maia was left shocked when doctors found more lumps in her chest and neck. She was eventually diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer affecting the white blood cells. Since then, the young Englishwoman has undergone six rounds of chemotherapy and is currently awaiting a follow-up examination to determine the next course of treatment.
Maia believes that her symptoms may have been overlooked by doctors because of her young age. “It was like being on a swing, at first I had nothing to fear, then the radiologist informed me that it was cancer,” she added at the end.
