Blood test saves young man with cancer; see symptoms – 05/21/2023 – Equilibrium

“A simple blood test saved my life,” says British Nella Pignatelli, 24, after being diagnosed with leukemia 18 months ago.

Initially, she says, she thought she had long Covid, as she felt tired and out of breath when walking.

“I started a new job and felt really tired all the time, but I associated everything that was happening to me with things that were happening in my life,” she says.

“When I had two nosebleeds that lasted an hour, I got to the point where, after three months of dealing with the symptoms, I was going crazy.”

Pignatelli’s story is similar to that of Brazilian writer Duda Riedel, 27. She also complained of excessive tiredness.

After successive trips to hospitals and misdiagnosis, a blood test finally showed that Riedel had leukemia.

According to the NGO Teenage Cancer Trust, which supports young people with cancer in the United Kingdom, 56% of people aged between 18 and 24 are unaware of the five signs and symptoms of the disease that they should keep an eye on.

What are the symptoms?

The most recognizable within this age group are:

• lumps, lumps, and bumps;
• unexplained tiredness;
• changes in body spots;
• pain;
• significant weight change.

Half of the 2,000 people surveyed also admitted to putting off going to the doctor for health reasons, and many claimed they did so out of fear of finding out what was wrong with them.

Other reasons given included being too difficult to get an appointment and fears that they were wasting the doctor’s time.

‘You know your body’

Nella went to the doctor for a blood test, followed by a bone marrow test, which revealed that she had acute leukemia and needed immediate chemotherapy.

Leukemia is the name given to the malignant disease that affects leukocytes – blood and bone marrow cells responsible for defending our body.

These diseased cells accumulate in the bone marrow, replacing healthy cells.

There are several types of leukemia: lymphoid or myeloid, acute or chronic. And there are four main types: acute myeloid leukemias (AML), acute lymphocytic leukemias (ALL), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Acute disease progresses rapidly and aggressively and usually requires immediate treatment.

“You know your body better than anyone – I regret not seeking help sooner, because if I had, I would have been treated more quickly,” she says.

Lauren Aneesa Angrish also didn’t know what the main signs to look out for when it comes to identifying cancer.

The 25-year-old also attributed feeling tired and regularly coughing and colds to her “hectic life”.

“At first I thought I was overworked and needed a holiday,” she tells the BBC.

Working as a makeup artist, she was able to get a fake tan at work for free and thought that might be the reason she started to develop a rash.

“I stopped tanning and the rash got even worse, it started on my legs and then literally spread all over my body – on my eyelids and face,” she says.

Lauren took steroids to remove the rash, but the symptoms continued to get worse, so she went to the emergency room and ordered a blood test.

‘Don’t stress or worry’

The next day, she was contacted and later diagnosed with acute leukemia, for which she had to undergo treatment, including a stem cell transplant.

Like Nella, Lauren also wants to encourage people who are concerned to make an appointment with their doctor.

“Any health issue, any concern — even a small body spot that has changed color, I would say don’t stress or worry about it, just make sure you get it checked out.”

Treatment for leukemia depends on the type and at what stage the disease is discovered. It may involve chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiotherapy, bone marrow transplantation or a combination of different treatments.

Teenage Cancer Trust head nurse Louise Soanes says: “It can be scary to think about cancer, especially if you’re young, but the disease can strike anyone of any age.”

“Always listen to your body, and if in doubt, never be afraid to seek help – chances are it’s not cancer, but it’s always best to check.”

In the UK, an estimated 2,400 new cases of cancer in young people are reported each year, but this represents less than 1% of all new cases.

Cancer diagnoses have been on the rise, with projections indicating that the number of people diagnosed with cancer will increase by a third by 2040.

The survey by Cancer Research UK, a UK-based non-profit institution dedicated to cancer research, shows that if current trends continue, cancer cases will increase from 384,000 cases a year currently to 506,000 in 2040.

Most of the increase is thought to be due to an aging population, because older people are more likely to get cancer.

However, smoking and obesity are also contributing to the rise and are the two biggest preventable causes of cancer, says the entity.

Brazil

According to the Atlas of Cancer Mortality, 6,738 people died from leukemia in Brazil in 2020 (date of the last survey released), with 3,703 men and 3,035 women.

Estimates by the National Cancer Institute (Inca) point out that, for 2022, 11,540 new records of the disease were expected, the majority, around 6,000, in men.

This text was published here