The young woman claims she knew something was wrong after she was suffering from heart rate and blood pressure issues for more than a year. She reportedly made multiple visits to the hospital to determine the cause of these health problems. Unfortunately, the doctors reportedly told her that she suffered from anxiety and was too young to have cancer. She also said that her disease is so rare that there’s not really prognosis and nobody knows what to expect. The young woman also said that she doesn’t blame the first doctors for their comments before her diagnosis.
The young software developer from Texas, Katie Coleman, told The Today Show that she was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer in 2020.
The young woman often shares updates about her condition on her social media account: “17 months ago I broke down on the bathroom floor after I was dx w/stage iv cancer & dr google only gave me an 18 month prognosis. Tonight I celebrate my 31st bday w/my husband & this incredible view in a v. diff place. I look fwd to proving google wrong. So grateful for this life.”
Coleman, who didn’t have any health issues, was diagnosed with oncocytoma, a typically benign tumor. The doctors told her that due to the rarity of her tumor, it took some time for her to get her first diagnosis.
During an interview with The Today Show, the young software developer said that she reportedly went to 8 different doctors, because was suffering from a high blood pressure and a rapid heart rate.
Unfortunately, 2 doctors told her that she was too young for cancer. Coleman said that she had anxiety throughout her life and this was different.
“I went to eight different doctors, did all kinds of tests and everybody just kept telling me I had anxiety. Two doctors told me I was too young for cancer when I asked. It made me feel like a hypochondriac.” Coleman said.
Coleman then lost weight, on purpose, to see if that could make her feel better. But, when she lost weight, she said that she started to feel a hard mass in her abdomen, The Today Show reports.
In Dec. 2020, the doctors did a CT scan and the young woman was diagnosed with a rare type of renal cell carcinoma. The doctors reportedly found a 5-inch mass on her kidney and several tumors in my liver.
Six months later, surgeons removed Coleman’s right kidney and did several resections of her liver. Unfortunately, Coleman still has tumors left in her liver, but they’ve been stable, she told TODAY.
During an interview with The Today Show, Coleman said that her cancer is so rare that there’s not really prognosis and nobody knows what to expect. The young woman also said that she doesn’t blame the first doctors for their comments before her diagnosis. To them, she just looked like an anxious patient, the young software developer said.
Coleman says she uses social media platforms to connect with other patients and share the raw emotions, journey tips for others to benefit from.
The young woman shared on her Twitter account: “The type of cancer I have is “exceedingly rare”. Case reports are in the single digits, worldwide, in history. So when I got dx, I felt incredibly isolated & alone. I searched endlessly for info only to come up empty again & again.
So I vowed that I would share everything about my case from that day fwd. So that in the unlikely event anyone found themselves in my shoe one day, they’d have another case to look to and wouldn’t feel so alone.
I’m painfully introverted & no one special, so this felt both unnatural & like a futile effort but I didn’t let that stop me, I started dropping bread crumbs. 1.5 yrs later, I entered the same search I did the night of my dx & it no longer comes up empty. I never want anyone to walk in my shoes but I hope they find this someday if they do, so many onions cut over here.”