Student, 21, diagnosed with disease that kills 11 people a day after doctors dismissed her as being anxious & dehydrated
A STUDENT was diagnosed with ovarian cancer after doctors dismissed her as being anxious and dehydrated.
Molly Smith started to feel numbness in her hands and feet, but initially didn’t think it was anything to worry about.
She waited a month before seeing her GP, who advised that her strange symptom was likely due to anxiety or simply not drinking enough water, as she was otherwise healthy.
But Molly, then 20, knew deep down it was something more serious.
“The numbness was so bad that it was affecting my ability to walk and dance, and I wasn’t sure if I would get the feeling back,” she told Newsweek.
“I knew in my gut there had to be an explanation, and I was going to do anything in my power to figure it out.”
Molly, a student at Yale University, then spent months visiting different doctors to try to get to the bottom of her condition.
She received an unofficial carpal tunnel syndrome diagnosis – where pressure on a nerve in the wrist causes pain and numbness in your hand and fingers – but still wasn’t convinced, so asked to see a neurologist.
After several more months of back and forth, an ultrasound identified an ovarian cyst – a fluid-filled sac.
At first, Molly was told it was benign and that she should wait three months to see if it went away on its own.
But at the age of 21, following further testing, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Molly, from New Haven, Connecticut, in the United States, wrote in a blog post for Yale News: “I received a phone call that changed my life.
“In a matter of seconds, I felt like I was outside my body. It was nearly comical.
“Then I sobbed. The hurt and anger finally began pouring out of me.”
Molly, now 22, underwent surgery to remove the tumour in January 2023, followed by three rounds of chemotherapy, and is now in remission.
But she wants to use her story to urge others to push for answers if they aren’t happy with the explanations they’re being given.
The dismissal of my concerns is unacceptable
Molly Smith
“I wasn’t listened to because I’m young and have no prior medical conditions, so I had to beg for three doctors to take me seriously,” Molly said.
“I’m so glad I did because I was lucky enough to find the cancer while it was stage one.
“I understand that most doctors wouldn’t make the connection between neuropathy and ovarian cancer, but the dismissal of my concerns is unacceptable.”
Neuropathy is a type of nerve damage that can cause pain, numbness or weakness, according to the NHS.
This includes pain, numbness, tingling and weakness in your hands, arms or feet.
MOLLY’S PLEA
Earlier this year, Molly launched Mission Mariposa – a nonprofit aiming to empower young people and educate them about cancer.
In a TikTok video, she said: “If doctors are dismissing your concerns and you in your gut feel that there is something else wrong and you need to look for more answers, you have to be the one to advocate for yourself.”
Ovarian cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the UK, according to Cancer Research UK.
It mostly affects women over the age of 50, but it can happen at any age.
About 7,500 people are diagnosed with the disease every year.
And there are around 4,100 ovarian cancer deaths annually – or 11 every day.
Warning signs of ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer affects the ovaries – the organs that store the eggs needed to make babies.
It mostly affects women over the age of 50, though it can affect anyone with ovaries.
The symptoms can be vague, and not always obvious. But you should speak to your GP if you notice any of the following 12 or more times a month:
- A swollen tummy or feeling bloated
- Pain or tenderness in your tummy or pelvis
- No appetite or feeling full quickly after eating
- An urgent need to pee or needing to pee more often
Other symptoms include: indigestion, constipation, diarrhoea, back pain, feeling tired all the time, losing weight without trying, bleeding from the vagina after menopause.
Source: NHS