How I Found Out I Had Cancer | Warning Signs

I was diagnosed with cancer on August 24th 2022 at 20 years old. Here I describe all of the symptoms I had prior to my diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia cancer. I hope my story helps encourage others to listen to their body whenever something feels off.

I'm Petal Palmer and I bring you the most bizarre true medical cases from around the world. If you enjoy learning about medical mysteries, diagnosis discoveries and malpractice cases, please subscribe for more.

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Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
01:09 - Chest pain
01:55 - First hospital trip
05:39 - Headache
07:20 - Symptoms flare up
10:57 - Headache worsens
12:11 - Struggle to run
12:36 - Doctor's appointment
13:45 - Freezing cold
14:39 - Night sweats
15:38 - Blood test results
16:52 - Blood burst in eye
18:02 - Overheating
19:18 - Extreme fatigue
20:15 - Doctor calls me
22:22 - Finding out
24:39 - Admitted into hospital

[koguma]

"i'm only 20" made me tear up. we're very close in age. glad you're well

[sebastianthecrab]

my younger cousin was diagnosed with the same type of cancer at only 3 years old, he's now 12 and is cancer free :)

[courtneymiszczak]

I can relate! I was sick for two years in highschool and I was brushed off constantly by doctors since I appeared healthy. I had anemia, losing hair, extreme exhaustion, couldn’t eat. I FINALLY had pain in my abdomen and they did an ultra sound and I had a tumor on my bladder. Once they removed it I was a new person, but if they didn’t find it I could have died from rapid growth and risk of spreading.

I’m happy you’re okay now. That’s scary and I’m glad you know your body! Stay persistent, save your life.

[skyvader]

You are a inspiration. I was misdiagnosed unfortunately. Took me 8 months to get the right diagnosis. Now it's terminal.

[Chronicallythrivingwithshadae]

Being young and sick is the most deadly combination. Glad you got checked out!

[Chelseabee]

Thank you for sharing your story. My fiancé is a stage 4 NHL survivor. Every doctor wrote him off and didn’t investigate even though he was mostly bedbound from pain and tumour growth. This entire time they said it was a rugby injury which we know he didn’t have. His rheumatologist saved his life, she was the only one that believed him. It’s alarming how little doctors care about young people with cancer symptoms

[abidenizart]

The slow creep of pain as a symptom is so insidious, it's easy to slowly get used to rationalizing increasing pain over time until you end up trying to ignore severity levels which should have normally prompted immediate action... Wishing you healing, thank you for sharing and appreciate the thouroughness and empathy in your researched vids so far!

[hanchan]

The comments here are really out of pocket. People are odd. Thank you for sharing your story. I cannot imagine what you went thru during that time or now..I love your channel.

[camscornerbooks]

I had a friend diagnosed with Leukemia and pass less than 2 weeks later. Symptoms were just like the flu. I’m so glad you got diagnosed in time and were able to get treatment. 🌻

[alwaysflushinpublic]

Doctors should listen to every patient who comes in with various complaints. When it's an athlete saying something is wrong, then something is definitely wrong merely because they have spent years listening and fine tuning their bodies. TY for sharing your story with us.

[Cfunwie]

Moral of the story, go back to the hospital over and over again until you have answers, please don't minimize pain. As a nurse watching, I get so traumatized how we always say oh it's nothing. Please, repeat and go to emergency room until you get answers. Don't wait if the symptoms repeat. Go back as many times as possible. It is better to accommodate hospital bills and be alive. Please, please, especially pain around your chest with headaches. No, go!

[jossandqvist]

I was also 20 when I was diagnosed with leukemia (AML). I had 90% blast cells in my blood. It's now been over 9 years and I'm doing well. Wishing you all the best!

[caoimherothwell]

Absolutely nothing comparable between cancer and addiction but it really hit home the way you recounted saying 'im only twenty', i went into treatment for 3months 2 weeks after my 20th birthday and i just really relate to that sinking feeling of realising the weight of the situation. Thank you petal, its amazing to see how far youve come even in just the past year ❤️

[Mrs.CGraves]

I went to the doctor with bad back pain. I had an Ultrasound and was told I had a large cyst on my ovary. I woke up from surgery and the doctor said I had cancer, and they had to do a radical Pan hysterectomy. They took ALL my reproductive organs, and cancer (Germ cell) was inside the cyst, and the cyst was so big it caused damage to the bladder.
I was told they got it all, but to be sure I would need more testing and possibly chemo or rads or both.
I only did 3 radiation treatments and no chemo.
I get scans every 6 months.
I was in full menopause at age 34. I was recovering from surgery, but felt incredibly lucky.
There was one person I told at my church who then told all the ladies, and about 3 months later 2 of them accused me of making it all up, because I didn’t “act” sad.
Like WHAT? I literally felt lucky. It was found before I knew I had it, and it was all removed in surgery. I did lose all my reproductive organs but I could deal with that.
People can be really cruel.
I’m glad you’re OK. I’m sure you get regular checks like me, but you beat it!!!

[kn]

Thank you for sharing your story. It's so easy to write off non-specific symptoms or assume that you're too young for a bad diagnosis--I know I did before my breast cancer diagnosis. I'm happy to see you are looking well and wish you a bright future--you'll make a wonderful doctor! ❤

[bluerosegurl]

I how long you had to wait. As someone with chronic pain, THIS is why doctors need to believe women. Thank you for sharing your experience =)

[researchplease]

I'm a survivor of colorectal cancer. When I turned 50 I went to the local community center to get some health checks recommended for my age. I was pretty healthy so the Dr said I could get a colonoscopy or just use the take home kit to check for colon cancer. So of course I chose the least invasive. The test didn't detect any cancer. But honestly it's probably one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made when it comes to my health. About a year later I started bleeding. I talked to my Dr and she said it could be just hemorrhoids. So she prescribed some medication to help. But then I just started getting so tired. I could hardly finish my duties at work. The bleeding got worse and I couldn't sit flat because it felt like I was sitting on a tennis ball. My Dr sent me for a colonoscopy. I was scared but they put me to sleep so it was pretty easy. Cancer was still the last thing on my mind. I mean, I use to ride my bike to work. I would juice a lot and was pretty much conscious of my health. When the Dr came in and told me I had cancer I still just felt blank. Not really thinking it could be true. He said I had a 7cm malignant tumor on my sphincter muscle. I told him how could that be possible when i did the cologuard test. He said it couldn't always detect the early polyps and if I would have gotten the colonoscopy earlier they could have removed the polyps. I think I was in shock because it was like I was watching myself going through everything. The Dr said they would have to try to shrink it first because it could easily spread. So I had 6 weeks of radiation and chemo. On the weekends I had a pump that I took home. I was so sick during those treatments. I lost about 80 pounds. They put a port in my chest so that made the treatments a little better. Plus the iv when I had my surgery was better through the port. They removed my rectum and a small part of my large intestine. I have a colostomy now. I also have severe nerve damage on my left side and lower back. I'm allergic to almost everything including healthy foods I use to live on. Like peanuts and wheat. I also have no bladder control because of the nerve damage to my bladder. My urologist said the nerves aren't working at all and they want to put in a pace maker for my bladder. I've been putting it off because I'm hoping the nerves heal on their own. Thankfully the cancer hasn't came back. My next oncology appointment in in January. I'm taking 2 different pain meds and have gained a lot of weight. Sometimes I get depressed but then I pray and it helps so much. I have the best husband in the world. A few months after my surgery I had to have a vacuum pump attached to my bum because the surgery sight was trying to open. I wore it for 5 months. So I was pretty much bed fast with nurses coming every other day to empty the pump and change the bandages. It was a horrible time. My husband would empty my colostomy bag and my catheter bag. And he would clean my private area. I do have the best husband in the world ❤. I'm a lot better now but still have the nerve problems. The colostomy isn't as bad as I thought it would be but it did take some getting use to. I didn't mention the stupid catheter I had for 14 months but this is probably already too long. My advice to everyone is get a colonoscopy as soon as it's recommended. I think it's age 45 now so go get it done. I will keep you in my prayers. It's been a long road to recovery for me but it does get better.

[XoxoTini]

It’s very disgusting to be dismissed from medical providers, and sadly it’s more common in certain demographics. Always always listen to your body. Praying for your healing ❤️‍🩹

[o.i.okoye.]

Congratulations on conquering cancer. I pray my baby sister conquers cancer too and lives to tell her story like you did IJN Amen.

[cantthinkofone]

Oh my goodness, this is so similar to my own story! I was 32 and going to school full time, working full time, and was a single mother to my son. I ignored all of the petichae, blood literally pooling in my calves and feet - it was beyond what you’d normally call bruising… the gum and nose bleeds, the fatigue, ALL OF IT. The kicker though, what finally made me go to the clinic at my school to get checked out after two months of these symptoms was the severely heavy and relentless period I was having. I had it for a week and a half and went through a super sized pad or tampon in only a couple of hours. The fatigue too was off the charts - I was exhausted 24/7, even falling asleep while driving.

I got a call from the clinic doctor telling me to go to the hospital to redo labs. I went and the doctor came in and said that what I have is too critical for that hospital (which was massive!) to care for me and they called an ambulance to take me to the bone marrow ICU at another hospital. I had no white cells/ANC, my platelets were at 1000, and my HCT/HEM were almost non-existent. So that period is joked about with my friends “can you pass away from a period, lol?!” The BMT group said I like would have passed in my sleep that night if I hadn’t gone to the clinic the day before and ended up with them.

My initial diagnosis was AML as I had greater than 5% blasts. However, and what I consider to be miraculous, a repeat BMB shortly thereafter revealed less than 5% blasts and the diagnosis was changed to very severe aplastic anemia. I was critical for two months then stable. I had no bone marrow matches, so I had no option but to wait to see if the first-line treatment would enable a response. It took nine months, but I finally responded and am now in remission. I still have the chromosome deletion that started all of this, so nine years out and I still have 2x annual bone marrow biopsies and labs to check to make sure I’m not relapsing or progressing to leukemia.

Anyway, I couldn’t help but chime in bc my story seemed so similar and the fact that I too was close to passing due to suppressing my worry over symptoms.

Sending you all of my love!!