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Colorectal cancer in a twenty-year-old? Nobody even considered this diagnosis. Iza Radkiewicz went from doctor to doctor. “It’s probably irritable bowel. Please change your diet, they said. When she hit the SOR, she heard that she had an intestine. When she found out what was really wrong with her, the cancer had already become malignant.
As part of our campaign “We choose the truth”, we recall selected texts from TvoiLokona that influenced the reality around us. In the coming months, more articles from the series will be presented on the TvoiLokony home page.
- Iza had constant stomach pains for a long time. At first she thought it was because of the stress
- The girl went from doctor to doctor, but the medics did not suspect a tumor. They said it was probably irritable gut or food intolerance
- The diagnosis was a shock – colorectal cancer in a 26-year-old girl
Living with constant pain
Iza, who is 28 today, has long suffered from permanent abdominal pain. She took painkillers almost every day. At first, she thought stress was responsible for recurring seizures. She did not suspect anything serious, because she ate and lived rather healthy: She exercised at the gym, rode her bike, got enough sleep. Anyway, at such a young age you don’t think about deadly diseases.
– When the pains became more frequent, I decided that I needed to do an ultrasound. I have had this test several times but it hasn’t found anything. Blood parameters? Normal, although the hemoglobin level is borderline. I consulted a gastroenterologist and surgeon. Doctors said I probably had irritable bowel. They ordered to change the diet to a lighter one, exclude lactose and glutenas symptoms may indicate food intolerance. They recommended immediate painkillers, iron supplementation and, basically, that’s all – says the girl.
Colon cancer. The diagnosis is just the beginning
Although Iza conscientiously followed the recommendations, the stomach aches still did not let her live. She couldn’t eat. The pills were no longer bringing relief. In the end, she went to the emergency department, where it was found that she had… intestinal flu. She got an IV and went home. All she had to do was wait for what would happen next.
“A month before I found out what was really wrong with me, I noticed blood in my stool. This has already worried me a lot. I went back to the doctor who noticed a polyp in the intestine during the rectoscopy. Only then did I have a thorough examination done – says Iza.
It turned out that the colon was occupied by the tumor.
– My first thought: I will definitely die, because cancer usually causes death. I knew almost nothing about this disease. I used to associate her with older people, after the age of 60 – she admits.
To this day, it remains a mystery what was the cause of the disease that turned Iza’s life upside down, took her out of the adolescent world and forced her to move to the hospital ward, where death is seen very often. Girl has undergone several operations to fix the problem. The chance that a strong young organism could cope with the cancer was high. Unfortunately, it did not happen, because a few months later the ailments returned – this time in a different place.
– I started to have terrible leg pains which radiated to my spine. They were unbearable. Doctors didn’t know what to do about it. They called a council. After the deliberation, they ordered me to come for a check-up… next year!
Izie had no choice but to sign up for a pain treatment clinic. She was given strong medications, incl. opioids. She was in pain 24 hours a day. The worst was in the evenings, because then the pain grew stronger. Eventually, even opioids stopped helping. She went to various specialists who did not associate any complaints with cancer at all. One diagnosed sciatica, the other made a different diagnosis. Over time it became apparent that this was how a recurrence that was simply overlooked manifested.
– When after six months I stopped to cope and asked for an increase in the dose of painkillers, the doctors ordered MRI and PET-CT [positron emission tomography – ed. ed.]. It turned out that the cancer had metastasized again. What saved me was the fact that I had passed the checkup earlier than recommended.
In case of disturbing symptoms indicating colon obstruction, we recommend a colorectal cancer screening test available on Medonet Market. The waiting time for the results is 7 business days. Prophylactically, it is worth buying a set of home tests for stomach problems, which includes tests that help in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer.
Expensive immune treatment
Now the disease has stopped, the pain has subsided and the metastases have started to recede, which does not mean that the fight is over. Treatment is still ongoing but had to be discontinued due to high cost of bioimmune therapy, for which Iza was qualified in a clinic in Germany. In Poland, there is no effective drug for metastatic colorectal cancer, and treatment abroad consumes 50. PLN per month. However, this is the only chance to get rid of the cancer forever and minimize the side effects of treatment. At this point, it’s a race against time. Iza begs for help.
– I do not have time, because the disease does not let go, but I had enough life for thoughts and planning. Today I am afraid of my dreams, I am afraid that they will never come true. Where did they go? They disappeared in the heat of the fight against cancer, because the only plan is to live another day … I would like to return to normal life as soon as possible. I often wonder if I can still think about the future, my family. Will fate offer me something more than suffering and loneliness … I still sincerely hope that thanks to wonderful people I will be able to win – he writes under his collection on the website siepomaga.pl.
Do you want to support Iza? You can do it here.
The editorial board recommends:
- Every day, 33 Poles die of colorectal cancer. The screening for cancer takes only 20 minutes
- What are the types of bowel cancer?
- The five cancers from which Polish women die most often
You haven’t been able to find the cause of your ailments for a long time? Do you want to tell us your story? Write to the address [email protected] #Together we can do more