The 37-year-old is a mother to two kids
Katie Pritchard, a 37 years old mother, has been diagnosed having a later stage of cervical cancer, after being misdiagnosed twice, a report by the Express says.
Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that occurs in the cervix which is the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina. This is caused by the human papillomavirus.
So, what happened exactly?
As per the media report, the mother was misdiagnosed as her symptoms were dismissed as the side effects of COVID vaccine.
"Katie initially went to her GP after finding a lump but was told there was “nothing to worry about” as her symptoms may have been down to the Pfizer vaccine," the report said.
She was told it might be a sexually transmitted infection
Katie was told that the lump might be a prolapsed bladder from childbirth. She was also told that the lump might be due to a sexually transmitted infection.
"I knew it was more than a bladder prolapse and I had been with my soon-to-be husband for 17 years, so I knew it wasn’t an STI," she told the media.
"Unconvinced Katie independently scheduled an appointment with a gynaecologist and was diagnosed with cervical cancer later that same month but she was then forced to wait an agonising three months for her treatment to begin - by which point the cancer had spread," the report said.
Her treatment began in April last year
After being a victim of misdiagnosis and waiting long for the treatment, she finally got treated for the cancer in April last year. She underwent radiotherapy, chemotherapy and brachytherapy.
Months later the cancer returned
Though in April her treatment was said to be successful, in December her cancer returned. She was diagnosed with lung, shoulder, spine and pelvic cancer and was given three months to live.
When did she push herself for further examination?
Katie told the media that though in June she was told that the cancer was gone, she suffered from a bad chest infection later. The doctors conducted a bronchoscopy and reassured her that it was just an infection. “It wasn’t until I started getting excruciating pain in my shoulder that they decided to examine further. In this time, the growth in my lung, which was wrongly suggested as an infection, had grown considerably,” Katie said.
Cervical cancer symptoms to note
Cervical cancer is characterised by bleeding in between periods and after sexual intercourse. There is a foul smelling white discharge. One is also likely to experience lower back pain or lower abdominal pain for a prolonged time. Cancer is a treatable disease when the symptoms are spotted at an early stage. Do not miss the symptoms and seek medical help at the earliest.
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