A woman says she was brushed off by medical professionals for months before later learning she had cancer — and she’s now speaking out about what she describes as a ‘lack of empathy’.
Last month, 26-year-old Sumbul Ari received a diagnosis of Stage 2-3 Hodgkin lymphoma, after living with unexplained symptoms for close to a year.
The earliest and most distressing issue she recalls was intense itching. At its worst, she says it repeatedly disrupted her sleep because she would wake up needing to scratch.
When she sought medical advice, she felt her concerns weren’t taken seriously. One doctor advised her to use moisturiser, while another dismissed it by saying that “it’s just one of those things”.
Over time, other symptoms appeared too, including night sweats, persistent infections, low energy, and a reduced appetite — a combination often associated with Hodgkin lymphoma.
Still, Sumbul says that across five separate appointments, cancer was never raised as a possibility. As she put it, the doctors she saw “never mentioned [cancer] or even considered it”.
It wasn’t until she noticed a lump in her neck that she became convinced something more serious was happening. She began researching her symptoms and says she quickly came to her own conclusion.
“As soon as I Googled ‘lump on neck’, all my symptoms came up, and I instantly knew I had cancer,” she said.
When the diagnosis was eventually confirmed, she explained that her first reaction was relief, because she finally understood what had been happening.
Reflecting on the long delay, Sumbul shared a blunt message for those who initially waved away her concerns.
“I would tell them how disappointed I am in them for not listening to me and taking me seriously enough, and now I have to deal with the consequences,” Sumbul said when asked what she would say to the doctors who didn’t listen.
“I could had been diagnosed 11 months earlier, and the entire time, the cancer was spreading,” she continued. “I would tell them to educate themselves further on the symptoms of cancer, and to never assume that young people don’t get cancer because they look fit and healthy. Not one of the doctors did a lump check even when presenting them with all my symptoms.”
Sumbul added: “There is a lack of empathy and lack of knowledge. I would tell them to ‘do better’. One doctor even had a sign in her room that said ‘don’t get your Google search confused with my years of education’. I would tell her what a joke that is.
“This is the very doctor that said ‘it’s just one of those things’, recommended I see another doctor, and then I had to diagnose myself with cancer. What a joke.”
She is now in treatment, and says the symptoms that dominated the past year have since eased.
“Ever since starting treatment, my symptoms have gone and I honestly feel great physically, I haven’t had any reactions, nausea, or side effects to treatment, so I am doing very well physically — I am just currently dealing with the emotional affects of everything happening,” she shared.
She also spoke about the emotional strain of having her life suddenly put on hold.
“I know I’ll be okay, and I try my best to stay positive, but I won’t lie when I say it is very, very hard. I worked so hard to get to where I was in my career and life and suddenly it’s on pause and being taken away. It’s very hard.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.