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Alix Burnard got a nasty cough in 2021 that turned out to be lung cancer.
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As her cancer progressed, she became so short of breath that she could no longer climb stairs.
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She’s on targeted therapy to stop her cancer from spreading further, but it’s not a cure.
A 29-year-old woman in the United Kingdom was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer after breathing and coughing up phlegm for months.
Alix Burnard, a sales manager from Newbury, Berkshire, was sent home with cough syrup and without diagnosis the first few times she contacted her doctor, she told the Mirror.
She said she started feeling sick in March 2021, but repeatedly tested negative for COVID-19. Her cough persisted and she developed swelling around her neck and lymph nodes, so her doctor prescribed antibiotics and recommended some tests. However, they wouldn’t see her in the office “because of COVID,” she said.
Burnard’s symptoms worsened over the spring, the Mirror reported. In May, she said she had lost so much weight that her clothes no longer fit, and that she often coughed until she vomited.
“I was having trouble breathing and couldn’t speak without running out of air,” she told British media. “I was constantly coughing up phlegm and couldn’t leave the house without a cup to cough into.”
When she was finally seen in person by her doctor, they sent her straight to the emergency department and tested her for tuberculosis. The test came back negative. But on her next hospital visit, Burnard got a CT scan that would reveal something more “sinister” in her lungs, she said.
She was treated for pneumonia, but her cancer was deemed incurable
After Burnard’s CT scan, doctors started talking to her differently, she told the Mirror. They admitted her to the hospital and told her she had cancer, but they didn’t know which one yet.
At the same time, Burnard was suffering from pneumonia, which took an extra toll on her lungs. Doctors pumped her full of IV antibiotics for the infection, but the cancer was said to be more difficult to treat.
Between her first scans and the official diagnosis, she was sent home from the hospital for two weeks.
“Those two weeks were really, really bad,” Burnhard said. “I was sleeping all the time and I was so weak I couldn’t really stand. My boyfriend had to carry me up and down the stairs because it was too hard for me.”
When she returned, Burnhard was told she had adenocarcinoma, a cancer that forms in glandular tissue. The cancer started in her lungs and had spread to her liver, lymph nodes, shoulder, spine and pelvis. Because it was at such an advanced stage, doctors told her the cancer was incurable.
“I was heartbroken by the news,” Burnard recalls. “I remember telling a friend and telling her that I will probably die from this disease one day.”
She’s on drugs to stop her cancer from spreading further
When she returned to the hospital, Burnard was shuttled back and forth between the cancer ward and the intensive care unit for targeted oral therapy and the occasional ventilator. She also took a moment to process her situation.
“Eventually, over time, I came to understand that I live and would live with incurable cancer,” she said. “I’d be too sick to take care of my dog. I wouldn’t be able to walk myself, let alone a strong bulldog.”
A cocktail of chemotherapy and targeted cancer drugs could give Burnard some time back, at least she hopes. She said she will start a new treatment called crizotinib in June 2022, and IV chemotherapy would be next.
“I can only hope this gives me much more time than my previous two lines of treatment. All I want is to stabilize my cancer and live my life as best I can,” she told the Mirror.
In the time she has left, Burnard said she plans to travel, spend time in nature, and surround herself with loved ones. She also spreads the word about preventive screenings.
“I think it’s clear that anyone with lungs can get lung cancer, and if you have a persistent cough, please don’t ignore it. Talk to your GP and get it checked out, it could save your life.”
Read the original article on Insider
