Lisa Monk, a 39-year-old mother of two, faced a harrowing experience when she received a misdiagnosis. In early 2023, she was wrongly diagnosed with a rare form of blood vessel cancer, specifically clear cell angiosarcoma, which is considered a type of cancer with a poor prognosis regardless of age and gender.
The doctors informed her that it was a blood vessel abnormality found in her spleen and gave her a grim prognosis of 15 months to live.
Believing she had a terminal illness, Lisa Monk embarked on a grueling journey of chemotherapy treatments. However, a few months later, she received a shocking revelation: she never had cancer at all.
Ms. Monk’s harrowing journey commenced with persistent stomach pains. A thorough scan uncovered an ominous mass on her spleen, prompting a series of rigorous medical examinations. The devastating verdict was delivered by the doctors the life-altering diagnosis of angiosarcoma.
“When the doctor told me it was cancer, I went into shock. The diagnosis was horrible, and [they] told me it was terminal,” recalls Lisa, a higher education worker.
“I had to go home and tell my two kids. I didn’t tell them at this point that it was terminal or that I only had 15 months; I just told them it was bad, but I was going to try to fight it.”
Ms. Monk, referred to a cancer hospital, commenced chemotherapy in March. The grueling treatment exacted a heavy toll, resulting in hair loss, severe nausea, and weakness. However, her world was abruptly upended just weeks into the second round. A review of her pathology report unveiled a critical error: Ms. Monk did not have cancer.
The emotional impact of this revelation has left her shaken but relieved. As for the cause of the misdiagnosis and the subsequent steps for Ms. Monk, clarity remains elusive. The uncertainty surrounding her health journey continues to weigh heavily on her mind.
“I saw the nurse practitioner first, and she just asked me about my symptoms, and she was scrolling on the computer while she was talking to me. All of sudden she just stops talking and has this look on her face.”
“She turned to me and looked completely horrified and told me she needed to get the doctor and then ran out of the room,” Lisa said.
“She left me alone for about 15 minutes, and the doctor came back in. He said a lot of medical lingo to me and then told me I didn’t have cancer.”
“I was confused, as they were acting like it was a bad thing. I just thought [if I didn’t have cancer] it meant the chemotherapy was working.”
She said, “Financially we’re still paying medical bills. Cancer is expensive and I couldn’t get any of my bills dismissed. Just the emotional trauma too. It was a very dark time,”
She added, she was writing goodbye letters and letters to the grandchildren she thought she would never meet. “I also still looked like I had cancer. I was bold and did not appear to be well. It was a daily reminder that it was something we had all lived through,”
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