need to know
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Jessica Mason spent years dealing with pain and vaginal bleeding but was dismissed and misdiagnosed by doctors
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After “begging” for an MRI, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer with a tumor the size of a tennis ball
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She said she was “one of the lucky ones” but now faces “never-ending” health problems because her cancer wasn’t caught earlier
A woman has “lost faith in doctors” after years of “begging” for answers about her health.
Jessica Mason, a 45-year-old mother of two from Wales, felt severe pain and vaginal bleeding when she decided to see a doctor in March 2019. An ultrasound found nothing abnormal and she was eventually sent home. After multiple visits, she was misdiagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), prolapse, and endometriosis, and was advised to perform pelvic floor exercises.
“I have been going to my GP or hospital for years complaining of bleeding and pain,” she told South West News via Wales Online. “While I understood my body and felt something wasn’t right, I felt I had no choice but to trust the doctors.”
“However, it felt as though nothing was being done to completely resolve my symptoms and I often felt like I was being cheated,” she said.
Owen Mitchell/SWNS
When her symptoms persisted, Mason saw her doctor again in 2022. An ultrasound showed her uterus was thickened, but she was told everything was “normal.”
At that moment, Mason burst into tears and felt like he was “not believed.” She then began “begging” doctors to order an MRI to find out the cause of her symptoms.
“It was only when I asked for an MRI that things started happening.” She told the BBC that doctors only provided the scan to give her “peace of mind”.
“I knew something was wrong,” she added.
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Owen Mitchell/SWNS
Mason underwent an MRI and was diagnosed with cervical cancer in June 2022 after a 6.5cm tumor (“the size of a tennis ball”) was found.
“Finding out I had cancer was devastating, but what’s even harder to comprehend is that I had been attending medical appointments for years and had a clear smear test six months ago,” she said. “Even now, I still wonder how long I’ve had cervical cancer and whether it should have been caught earlier.”
“I lost faith in doctors,” she admits.
Mason, who is mum to son Teejay, 17, and stepdaughter Brooke, 18, said her diagnosis was devastating and she had to immediately begin months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Additionally, a follow-up MRI in February 2023 showed that Mason’s tumor was still present and that she would need to undergo a hysterectomy, ending her chances of having more children with her husband, Dan, 43 years old.
“Dan and I had been talking about having another baby, but having that baby taken away from us was hard to accept,” she said.
Owen Mitchell/SWNS
Mason admits her delayed cancer diagnosis changed everything.
“It took over our lives,” she shared. “I’m physically devastated by what I’ve been through, but also mentally, my friends, my family, my home life, everything revolves around that.”
Mason explained that her health problems are “never-ending” and she still bleeds and will need more biopsies in the future. She expressed dismay at how many women go through similar situations.
“I always have this worry in the back of my mind, what if they miss something again and this time I don’t survive?” she told the outlet. “Many issues specific to women are not recognized [quickly] Enough. They just see it as a “time of the month” or a “women’s issue”. “
Owen Mitchell/SWNS
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Mason is now cancer-free, but admits she still faces lasting physical and emotional effects.
“When I became ill, I rushed to plan my wedding and made a will just in case I didn’t survive,” she said. “In some ways, I know I’m one of the lucky ones because I’m alive and cancer-free, but it’s hard not to think that if someone had listened to me, I wouldn’t have had to go through what I went through.”
“I still live with the mental and physical scars. I’m in pain and sometimes can’t even walk properly,” she continued. “Even though I don’t have cancer, I feel like the impact of cervical cancer won’t go away.”
Read the original article on People
