When there’s something wrong, most people generally tend to know.
After all, we know when we don’t feel right, as we just don’t seem to be ourselves. At just 24-years-old, TikTok blogger Saskia Clark discovered that her unusual symptoms, initially thought to be anxiety, were actually a sign of a rare form of cancer.
In a revealing video, she shared her health ordeal, claiming her GP had suggested her symptoms might be due to anxiety. However, the truth was far more serious, as she was suffering from medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), which she said affects only 4% of those with thyroid cancer and arises from the parafollicular cells in the thyroid gland.
Saskia recounted that, despite having symptoms for a long time, they went undetected, and a consultant later informed her she likely had the disease since she was about 11-years-old.
She said: “The biggest one, and what led me to get looked into in the first place, was really bad chest pain that was constantly there – really tight. Something that’s really common to have in this cancer is really bad diarrhea, so the way that they measure this cancer is something called calcitonin in your body.
“You have calcitonin – it’s kind of between one to five is the average, normal amount to have. My calcitonin levels before surgery was 56,000. So yeah, I had really bad bowel movement and I think bowel movement anyway, I think in women especially, we just play it off like it’s normal like ‘oh bad bowels, ‘oh my tummy hurts’ but no – you need to get it investigated.
“Always fatigued. I got to a point where this is just my normal – like, I’ve always been fatigued. It wouldn’t be until I compared it to like my boyfriend for example, and how much energy he had, and be like ‘oh, this isn’t normal’.”
She also reported suffering from “really bad hives” on her skin after eating, though she’s unsure if it’s related to the cancer. In addition, she experienced “really bad periods”.
Saskia explained that she would also endure “really bad” nightsweats, particularly worsened during summer months, leading her to change her bedding nearly every other day due to the excessive heat. Furthermore, she felt her immune system was compromised as she found herself often tripping, with occasions where her legs would seemingly “stop working”, coupled with significant bruising.
She also mentioned suffering from “constant muscle aches” and difficulty sleeping – spending what seemed an “eternity” fighting to have her symptoms properly investigated. While mentioning these symptoms don’t necessarily indicate cancer, she emphasised the importance of seeking medical advice if anything seems amiss and encouraged people to advocate for themselves if worried in any way.
What to know about medullary thyroid cancer
It’s critical to remember that having any of the described symptoms does not automatically imply you have cancer. Nonetheless, anyone concerned about their health should always contact their GP.
In the case of medullary thyroid cancer, specialists highlight that symptoms can include:
- A lump in the neck, especially just below the Adam’s apple
- Hoarseness
- Difficulty swallowing
- Pain in the neck, jaw or ear
- Unexplained hoarseness that doesn’t go away
- A sore throat that doesn’t get better
- Diarrhoea
- A red face
- Unexpected weight loss