A mother who initially dismissed her discomfort as a result of ‘sitting too long’ at her desk faced a devastating revelation when she was diagnosed with stage three cancer.
Courtney Liniewski, hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, noticed something was amiss when her neck unexpectedly swelled during the first night of a vacation with her husband in Mexico, February 2022.
Recalling the incident, she said, “It wasn’t painful or anything, it was this palpable lump on my neck, like I had an allergic reaction to something. I started having difficulty breathing that week – I couldn’t walk up or down the stairs and I had a lot of chest pain.”
Upon returning home, the 34-year-old promptly consulted a doctor and was immediately sent in for a CT scan.
Medical professionals delivered the shocking news that Courtney had a ‘grapefruit-sized tumor’ in her chest, measuring an alarming 11cm, and she was diagnosed with stage three follicular lymphoma.
“I was hysterical for most of that time, I did a lot of crying and panicking,” Courtney said upon receiving her diagnosis. “I was thinking the worst.”
Within two weeks, she began intensive chemotherapy sessions. By July of that year, she fortunately received an all-clear.
Currently, as a mental health counselor, Courtney aims to raise awareness of the symptom she initially overlooked, which began towards the end of 2021. She admitted that for months, she thought the pain was just backaches from ‘sitting down for too long’ during her workday.
“I was experiencing intermittent back pain but it was really sharp and intense,” she noted. “It was right below my shoulder blades, in the mid sternum area in my back.
“I just thought I wasn’t moving enough and I was being lazy.
“I was sat down a lot for my job and I was at my desk most of the day.”
Her symptoms intensified in January, yet appeared unrelated.
Courtney added: “I started losing hearing in my left ear every night and my nose was always running and it wouldn’t stop. I was just experiencing weird symptoms but nothing consistent and nothing that added up that something was really wrong.”
Despite recently celebrating three years cancer-free, Courtney continues to have regular appointments with her oncologist due to concerns the cancer might return.
“It was a great feeling that they told me when I was cancer free but I was still also scared. Due to how aggressive the cancer was it’s basically guaranteed to come back at some point, but I haven’t required any additional treatment since.”
She hopes to encourage others to investigate any unusual health signs.
Courtney concluded: “You can’t stop pushing for it [a diagnosis] because cancer care has come a long way and people are surviving cancer significantly more than they used to. I think people should know that it’s okay to advocate for yourself if something is wrong.”