'It took one question in a Turkish baths to prove my GP's diagnosis was wrong - and that I was seriously ill'
06.12.2023 - 10:21
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Claire O'Shea knew something was wrong. She had been visiting her GP for nearly two years without finding out - but it was only when she went on holiday to Istanbul and visited a Turkish bath that she began to understand. "When I was in there the woman stopped the massage and in broken English said: 'Lady, baby?' thinking I was pregnant.
"I went white. I knew I wasn't pregnant but it all became very apparent to me then that the lump was, actually, probably in my reproductive organs. And I remember talking to my friends like: 'My God. How is a Turkish masseuse doing a better job of telling me what's wrong with me than my GP has for months?'"
Claire, a 41-year-old woman, was diagnosed with a rare cancer called uterine leiomyosarcoma. This cancer is at stage four and has spread to her liver, lungs, and bones, WalesOnline reports.
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The Cardiff woman shared her story with the Senedd's health and social care committee to raise awareness about how the NHS often gives women with gynaecological cancer a false diagnosis. According to evidence heard by the committee, women feel their concerns are often dismissed or downplayed, making them feel like a "neurotic nuisance".
Judith Rowlands, from Anglesey, contacted her GP when she started bleeding after the menopause. She was given hormone replacement therapy but when the bleeding continued, she knew it wasn't just the menopause.
Eventually, Judith was diagnosed with endometrial cancer and had a hysterectomy. But after surgery, she experienced terrible pain starting in her stomach and then affecting her leg to the point she could not walk.
Despite her belief