A Canadian woman diagnosed with stage 4 cancer says she ignored the symptoms of the disease because she believed they were “eczema-related.”
Taylor Dean Roy, 32, had experienced extreme fatigue and itchy skin for years before getting a devastating diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma last month.
“I’ve been dealing with itchy skin, known as follicular eczema, for three years,” Roy, who hails from Edmonton, Alberta, tells NeedToNoo.
Roy dismissed other symptoms he later developed, falsely believing that they were related to his skin condition. She also admits that she failed to push back against dismissive doctors.
She admitted, “For two years I was extremely tired and out of shape, but I thought it was just a part of aging.” ,[Then] I started having random pains for which I blamed myself.”
Finally, in September, after discovering a large lump on her neck, she went to a doctor for an ultrasound.
“On October 2 this year, less than two months after the lump was found, I was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which had spread to my lungs and the bones of my spine,” Roy said emotionally.
The Canadian continued, “The moment I was told I had cancer, it felt like the whole world stopped around me.” “I felt like nothing was real for a few minutes.”
Roy is now undergoing treatment and is experiencing “severe pain, nausea and fatigue” and struggles to get out of bed for some days.
She declared, “My body is a stranger, betraying me in ways I never thought possible.” “Simple tasks that I once could do without thinking now sometimes become almost impossible.”
“The hardest part is the feeling of losing myself – losing the independence I had worked so hard to build.”
Roy is hopeful that she will overcome the disease and says she is in the “fight of her life”.
And despite the daily difficulties of treatment, the inspiring Canadian is now using her TikTok account to share her story and raise awareness.
In a post about the symptoms she ignored, she said she wished she had talked to her doctor about them sooner.
She said, “I think the most I can do with my circumstances is to spread enough awareness to people to advocate for themselves and not give up when doctors won’t listen.”
“If I had been more pushy with the doctors, I wouldn’t be at Stage 4 now.”
