Woman who was diagnosed with terminal cancer at 34 reveals the subtle signs she ignored for months

A woman who was diagnosed with stage 4 terminal lung cancer has opened up about the five warning signs she ignored for months.

A woman diagnosed with terminal cancer aged 34 shares the five warning signs she ignored. (Stock image). Credit: SimpleImages / Getty

Linda Chavez was only 34 when she found out that she had Metastatic Bronchial Carcinoma after a series of misdiagnoses. 

The woman, who is a wife and mother of two, claimed that for years doctors attributed her symptoms to less serious conditions.

By the time Chavez was diagnosed, the disease progressed to a terminal stage after it had spread to her brain and bones.

She now uses her TikTok page @theterminalcancershow to regularly update her followers about her condition and raise awareness about the disease.

In a recent video shared on the platform, the now-35-year-old collaborated with Young Lung Cancer Is A Thing to talk about the subtle signs she noticed before receiving her devastating diagnosis.

Chavez revealed that she had been experiencing a cough "for years" before seeking medical attention.

She said the cough was minor at first but "eventually it was deeper, it felt very painful and it felt piercing in my chest".

“Please do not ignore a persistent cough,” she added.

The mom-of-two shared that she woke up "every single morning" with a consistent "headache" for over nine months, often taking Tylenol - a brand name for paracetamol - to deal with the discomfort.

While headaches are not usually considered a primary symptom of lung cancer, the disease can spread to other parts of the body, including the brain, which can subsequently cause headaches.

Chavez suffered from aches and pains before her cancer diagnosis.

Describing the sensation, she said: "[It was] kind of like when you stub your toe, that initial throbbing, pulsating pain."

The TikToker explained that she also experienced fatigue before her diagnosis.

"Number four, I was definitely exhausted beyond belief and out of breath. I literally had to take shallow breaths due to the pain that I was feeling every time I was inhaling or exhaling," she said in the clip.

Johns Hopkins Medicine shared on its website that fatigue can be an early sign of various cancers because "cancer uses your body's nutrients to grow and advance, so those nutrients are no longer replenishing your body".

"This 'nutrient theft' can make you feel extremely tired," the statement added.

The final symptom Chaves suffered from was nausea, which she attributed to the brain cancer affecting her right frontal lobe.

"It was due to the brain cancer, apparently a lot of my brain mets (metastasis), are on my right frontal lobe which controls like hunger, cravings, nausea, and all that," she explained.

Credit: GoFundMe

A GoFundMe page has been established by Chavez's brother-in-law, Kyle Gregory, to support her cancer treatment.

On December 3, an update on the fundraiser revealed that the TikToker was diagnosed with Leptomingeal dissemination disease, which means "cancer has traveled to the cells of the fluid in her brain".

Due to this, Chavez will be "in [and] out of the hospital for labs, procedures, and a rigorous new infusion regime".

“It's no doubt the kids and family, friends, and even social media followers breathe life into Lin and her fight," the update continued. “To those who know Lin, she's a fighter through and through and won't go down without fighting the good fight."

Featured image credit: Hispanolistic / Getty