People Who've Had A Serious Illness Describe The Exact Moment They Knew Something Was Really Wrong
As a kid, I never raised alarm bells even when I started to feel sick. My mom got stressed easily and was busy taking care of my younger brother, so I never wanted to be a burden by making her take me to the doctor only to find out nothing was wrong.
However, in fifth grade, my ears started to hurt and I knew something was wrong. I told my mom, she took me to the doctor, and I found out I had an ear infection.
Now, an ear infection isn't serious at all, and it was easily treatable. Still, I learned something from that experience: no one knows your body better than you. You know if and when you're sick and how serious it is, even if you don't now exactly what is wrong.
Redditors can corroborate this. Many of them have experienced symptoms that told them they were sick in some way -- usually with a very serious illness -- and are ready to share those experiences.
It all started when Redditor thelearner18 asked:
"People who have had a serious disease (cancer, MS, organ failure, etc) when did you realize something was really wrong?"
A Lesson Learned
"Hust found out i have rectal cancer. 42 yrs old. multiple stools per day, not fully emptying, thin poop. so got a colonoscopy. bam! cancer. starting chemo next week. lesson learned for everyone....if your stools or stool schedule changes, go see a doctor"
– shawngee03
A Lucky Break
"I had been having a lot of pain in my midsection, and all around my torso for several weeks. I went to the doctor and it was dismissed as gynecological cramping (menopausal?). It remained. After several weeks (6-8) I couldn’t take it anymore. I went to emergency in the middle of the night. I got a CT scan that showed a large kidney stone. They also found a mass on my ovary. The kidney stone lead them to finding a rare ovarian cancer. If not for that stone, I wouldn’t have known about the cancer and might not have caught it in time. I have been in remission since September 2021."
– peachsqueeze66
Cause For Concern
"My kid, who was 14 at the time, kept throwing up in the morning and having weird headaches. Her doctor thought it was migraines. She went back a couple of times, but the doctor was not concerned. Then one day she complained of a whooshing noise in her ear. Went to the children’s hospital and found out it was a brain tumor near her cerabellum. She was in ICU for a month, but turned out it was non cancerous and it never grew back. She is doing great now."
– Evilelfqueen
"I heard a whooshing noise in my ear a few years ago I only really heard it at night when it was quiet it would sometimes switch ears now I basically never hear it. I'm pretty sure it was just pulsatile tinnitus but still scary."
– fallen-summer
It Was The Salt
"I have Cystic Fibrosis (terminal lung disease) and it was found out when I didn't sh*t for 3 days after I was born and then my mother gave me a kiss and said I tasted REALLY salty."
"Now I'm on a gene modification drug called Trikafta and this is some serious witch craft a** sh*t because I no longer feel sick to death and I basically feel like a normal person. It's f*cking wild!
"Went from 19% lung function to 87% in 3 months. I no longer cough my a** off or feel like I'm suffocating from mucus. Go science!"
– Sudden_Blueberry_477
A Funky Optic Nerve
"I was diagnosed with MS when I was 22 after having blurred vision in one eye after a ski trip. I went to the optometrist and they said I had a dry eye probably from not wearing goggles while snow boarding. So they gave me steroid drops. After a week it kept getting worse, so I went back and they told me my eye looked much better so they did a field of view test, which showed I couldn’t see anything out of the lower half of one eye. They sent me straight to the emergency room since nothing was wrong physically wrong with my eye. They did some tests and I was diagnosed with MS and ended up going completely blind in one eye. My vision eventually came back and I got on medication within a month so haven’t really had any symptoms or issues since thankfully. I’m only 29 now though."
– johnjohn9312
Caught It In Time
"This isn't me, but this happened to my best friend VERY recently. Like in the last couple of months."
"Was perfectly fine and healthy one day. Then the next he started feeling a little bit of pain in his kidney. He'd had kidney stones before, so he figured it was that again. Then he started peeing blood. He thought it was still part of the kidney stone thing so let it go for a couple days, but he was still peeing blood and the pain was getting worse."
"That's when he decided to go to the doctor. They did an X-ray and found a mass in his kidney and told him that based on where it was located they can't remove the mass, and they can't do a partial kidney removal, and it's about a 90% chance it's cancerous, but they wouldn't be able to do a biopsy without removing the kidney first. They did the whole insurance dance, but it went fast and within two weeks he was in surgery having his kidney removed."
"He's still recovering at home right now, but they got the biopsy results last week. It was indeed cancerous, but they caught it before it spread."
– SweetCosmicPope
Happily Ever After
"I couldn’t walk anymore with my crutch I had been using to get by. Had Been on Percocet for 8 months because of the extreme pain. Nobody was finding answers to my pain but I knew something was wrong, badly. After finally having an ultra sound on my hips at the age of 26 I found out I had to undergo a double hip replacement to walk again due to a serious rare disease. I was stage 4 Avascular Nercrosis. Took a year to recover from both. But Happier ending, I’m doing good now. However it was very very upsetting news to get over a phone call at 26."
– heartpathetic
It Really Sneaks Around
"My wife started getting numbness in her right arm. The breast cancer had spread to her right shoulder and the tumor was crushing the nerves. She has stage four breast cancer in her bones."
– zenos_dog
A Turn For The Worse
"For me, it started May 14, 2014. I went to work and was having a good morning. Then, at about 9:00 in the morning or so, I started to feel some lower abdominal pain. Not to be crude, but it felt like that cramp you get when you really need to go to the bathroom. I did so, but the pain didn't go away. It got worse. I started to feel chills, was sweating, and felt nauseated. My employer has a clinic on site, so I went there. After some poking and prodding, the nurse asked me if I wanted to go home or if I wanted to go to the emergency room. I decided to go home, and if the pain didn't subside, then I'd go to the emergency room. As I was saying that, though, I noticed that my pain had gotten a LOT worse. They always make you rate your pain on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being no pain at all and 10 being the worst pain you've ever felt. When I went into the clinic, I was mostly uncomfortable, maybe a high 2 going into a 3. On that very subjective scale, I was now a 6 or a 7."
"I changed my mind and decided to go straight to the nearest emergency room. My boss drove me, and by the time we got there about 15 minutes later, I was now a 10. This was the worst pain I'd ever felt. My previous definition of the worst pain I'd ever felt was when I broke 7 bones in my wrist, it was misdiagnosed as a sprain, and I had to have them rebroken 2 weeks later. The pain in my abdomen was now worse than that. The emergency room admitted me and put me in a wheelchair. They wheeled me to a room, I curled up on the bed they put me in, and passed out."
"At some point, a nurse came in and gave me some morphine. Great stuff. No pain at all anymore. A doctor came in and told me they suspected a kidney stone. He wanted me to get a CT scan to confirm it, and I agreed. An orderly wheeled me off to imaging. I got scanned without contrast and was wheeled back to the room. My wife had arrived while I was getting scanned. Shortly later, the doctor who told me he thought it was a kidney stone came into the room. With another doctor. And two nurses. They all crowd around me with solemn looks on their faces."
"The first doctor told me it was a kidney stone. A 2 to 3 mm kidney stone had been lodged in the ureter of my left kidney. That's the tube that goes from the kidney to the bladder. It passed into my bladder when they gave me the morphine, but they could see evidence of it on the CT scan. Then the other doctor said they were more concerned about the 6 cm mass they found on my right kidney. They had my attention."
"They did another CT scan, with contrast this time, and it was impossible to see anything but a tumor in the pictures they showed me. They made an appointment for me with a urologist for the next day, as well as an appointment in a few days time to get it biopsied. It was an after-hours appointment for the urologist, but he was nice enough to stay late to see me. He looked at the CT Scans and cancelled my appointment to get it biopsied. He said there was nothing else it could be but cancer, and the kidney would have to go."
"Two months later, I had the kidney and the tumor removed laparoscopically. I was incredibly lucky. They caught it in stage 1. The doctor said there were signs it was going to start moving soon. I have no idea how doctors can look at a softball sized lump of cancer and tell anything other than 'gross', but that's why they're the doctors and I'm not."
"My recovery was smooth, and I've been cancer-free for 9 years. I was incredibly blessed. I didn't have to deal with chemo, or radiation. While those can save your life, they are also horrible experiences with nasty side effects. I didn't have to deal with any of them. I was bracing myself to have to. They said it was a possibility. But I didn't. I have every respect for those not as fortunate as me, and wish them all the best in recovery."
– mnementh9999
Reason #5,622 To Start Exercising
"I started jogging again to try and get back into running shape. I kept noticing that just after a mile or so, I'd stop and get REALLY lightheaded. Kept thinking, "oh, I'm really out of shape" and kept going. Went in a few weeks later for my annual physical and doctor said "you ever been told you have a heart murmur?", no. Two months later I spent Christmas of 2017 in the ICU after having a section of my aorta cut out and a new valve put in. Surgeon said it was bad. Said it wouldn't have made it too much longer."
"Edit: for clarification, it was an aortic dissection."
– Itsawlinthereflexes
Slow And Steady
"My dad's friend went on a hike with a doctor who knew him and he was winded not far from the car. The doctor clocked it right away and told him to get his heart checked. He had 98% blockage in his heart arteries."
"He tells my dad so my dad gets the test to see how his arteries are doing and they found a massive aneurism on his aorta. He is getting it removed tomorrow. He had no symptoms but the doctors said if he had overdone it he would be dead before anyone would even know what was going on. Crazy how a random friend's hike may have saved his life."
– Pencilowner
It Takes A Village
"I never did, my teacher and parents did."
"I was seven, usually an active kid and my first grade teacher noticed that rather than running around at recess I sat down and took a nap. It happened a couple more times and after I fell asleep in class (totally out of character), she gave my parents a call, we had been visiting the doc fairly regularly cause I was also complaining of joint pain and frequent ear infections combined with the new symptoms and a new doc at the practice I was finally diagnosed with leukemia."
– greenmachine11235
Thank goodness for that teacher (and of course, the parents)!
Our upbringings are different, and as such, our behavior towards others varies wildly.
For example, how we treat our fellow humans is indicative of what rules we follow.
What do we consider to be polite? What do we consider to be an unwritten rule that we must follow?
These questions dicate how we act and what we consider the most important.
So it can seriously dig under our skin when someone doesn't follow those unwritten rules.
Reddit user, HAXposed, wanted to know what they wished everyone already knew when they asked:
"What's an unspoken rule that annoys you when people don't know about it?"
We've had smart phones as a common piece of day to day living for a while now, right?
That means we should all know the following rules when you decide to use your phone in public or when you see someone using their phone.
Last Thing You Want To Do Is Say Something Embarrassing
"Let people know when you have them on speakerphone!"
"Especially when your husband/wife/partner/friend/any other human is within earshot."
blueshiftglass
Wait, People Actually Do This?
"When someone hands you their phone to use, don't f-cking go through it. It's rude."
Sensitive_Suspect_69
"100% this."
"Years ago, I left my tablet at a friends for like half hour and when I got back, his room mate was laughing going through my photos."
"They accused me of overreacting when I went f-cking apesh-t."
"Had a bit of petty revenge when the same dude traded in my friends games and my friend got pissy. I smugly told him he was overreacting."
SephariusX
Notice The Things In My Ears Blocking The Sound?
"If you see me taking off my headphones to listen and answer your question, then [immediately] put them on again... 5 TIMES... it clearly means that I'm just being polite, not that I'm interested in talking to you, so STOP ASKING ME QUESTIONS."
V02D
There Are Other People Around You
"Don’t play music out loud from your mobile phones on public transportation. I get that you’re going to have a boring ride but don’t ruin everyone else’s."
AJSK18
"Or kids games. Turn the volume off in the train or waiting room. Or restaurant."
JL1186
Here's something that might shock some people.
When you're at the grocery store, or in a deli, or literally anywhere where other people need to buy products, you are surrounded by other people.
At Least Stand Off To The Side? Bare Minimum, People
"Standing in f-cking doorways, go in or out, but get the f-ck out of the way."
Lonesomeplum
"To add on to this, having a full f-cking conversation right in front of the door or in a small hallway then getting offended when your expected to f-cking move."
PizzaTime666
Damn It, Sharon!
"Move your cart to the side of the aisle when looking for groceries, don't hog up the middle. 'Oh, of course I'll wait for you to pick out a flavor of beans, Sharon, take your time!'"
Electrical_Potato_21
"Also, if they ask who's next at the deli and you haven't decided yet - don't say you're next and have a five minute discussion about what you may or may not want."
xvf9
And then there's these rules to follow to make you a more respectable member of today's society.
Just pay people back.
It's that simple.
Don't hold money from people who rightfully deserve it.
What Does It Mean?
"Respect people's right to say no. It's okay to ask someone for something, or to do something, or whatever - but if they say no, don't pester them or guilt trip them. People who pressure their friends are kind of garbage friends."
rgrwilcocanuhearme
"One thing that annoys me is when somebody asks for something, I say no, then they say please. I didn't say no because you were rude enough to not use your manners. I said no because I didn't want to."
ObserveTheGreyArea
Pay. Your. Artists.
"Don’t ask people to do their job for free, even if you’re friends or family."
Inkoko
"As a semi-pro photographer I get "invited" to a lot of events/parties/gatherings from too many "friends"/acquaintances."
"You're going to bring your camera right?"
"Yeah, for $100 p/h..."
str8dwn
Get Them Back Sooner Rather Than later
"If someone pays for something for you (I'm not talking about as a gift, I just mean 'We can't split the bill here so I'll pay and you can pay me your half later', 'I'll buy both of our concert tickets now and you can revolut me for it later', etc) you really shouldn't make them ask you to pay them back. Ideally not even once, but especially not two or three times."
"If I owe someone money like that I make sure to pay them back as soon as I can and let them know once I've done it. I have a friend who I know is not short on money, but I stopped offering to pay for things for him in situations like the above because he just forgets and makes you ask him two or even three times before he does it. I really think that's not fair to people. You're putting them in an uncomfortable position."
ladyblithe
Hopefully This WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC Will Change A Few Minds
"Warn people that you/your kid is sick before turning up at their house/interacting with them. Chicken pox, flu, hand foot and mouth, stomach bug all caught by my toddler in the last 12months and could have been avoided."
Medium-Raspberry1122
"My 11mo got covid and a stomach bug in the last 3 months. Both could also be avoided because people already had symptoms before seeing us."
"I am mad now so I am not sure when we gonna see the in-laws again..."
no_user_name8
Cashier Courtesy
"Taking your headphones off when talking to a cashier. Like, yes they are working there and they might have less money than you, Karen, but they still deserve to be able to tell you how much the diapers you want to buy cost."
- TheAngelVoice
"Cashier POV. When people put the money down on the counter instead of placing it in your hands."
"It makes me feel so disrespected when I have to basically scrape the money together and their just watching."
- killaahk8175
Turn It Off
"When people leave their blinker on when driving down the highway… let me explain."
"Especially in busy city areas that have multiple lanes in the highways I see people all the time leaving their blinker on when driving straight. This gives me so much panic because I have been in multiple car accidents from people changing lanes without looking or leaving their left blinker on and switching to the opposite right lane etc."
"If you are not switching lanes or turning PLEASE turn your blinker off. I have no idea what you are going to do and it confuses other drivers."
- aylaswrld
Stop Slamming!
"Close your f*cking doors gently, and silently too, for that matter!"
"I cannot tell you how many people I’ve met who just slam doors shut all the time and think it’s completely fine and normal. The way I close doors, most of my roommates thought I was never home."
"Nobody likes the sound of slamming doors plus it's bad for the door itself. Be courteous and close them gently."
- snowglobe0
Common Areas
"Kissing passionately in areas that are meant for everyone."
"This happened to me a few days ago. I’m in university and we have a common kitchen for the whole floor."
"I was going there one night to get something from the vending machine and there was a couple there. You would think that the moment I entered they would maybe pause on the affection or maybe tone it down and then resume."
"Nope!"
"The girl decided to AGGRESSIVELY kiss on the guys neck. The sound effects were something I never want to experience again."
"And what took me out, was the fact that when I left, I saw from my peripheral vision that she had stopped and looked at me with a sort of smirk like the really did something there and was proud of herself."
"Reason? I would also like to know."
- Toga_24
Don't Block The Walkway
"I am a pass holder at a local theme park complex."
"There are moving walkways that get you from the parking garage to the shopping district out front of the parks. There's an unspoken rule that you do NOT stop walking on the moving walkways, and if you must, stay to the right side so people who follow the rules can pass (they're not very wide, like as wide as a normal escalator)."
"Every time I go some group stops as soon as they get on the walkway and takes up the whole freaking thing. Drives me insane."
- Tpabayrays2
Parking
"People who park directly in front of YOUR house."
"Every house on my street has a detached garage in the back, and extra parking out front. One of my neighbours always parks directly in front of my house (ie. MY footpath leads straight to THEIR car door)."
"They even parked there when my wife was pregnant, or carrying a newborn, and forced her to park further down the block every day."
- juxtamusician
Don't be a jerk.
How about that? Simplified for everyone to follow.
Be considerate of your fellow humans and maybe, just maybe, don't blast heavy metal from your phone on a train ride.
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People Diagnosed With Cancer Share The Symptom That Made Them Seek Help
I hate cancer—it has claimed too many lives.
I'm also deathly afraid of it. So that's a fun combination.
Until the day comes when we have a cure, the best we can do is to be vigilant with our bodies and our health.
If something feels off or if something pops up out of the ordinary on the body... get it checked out.
It's hard news to hear, but the sooner the better.
Redditor mrgrinchisameansong wanted to know what warning signs to look for regarding our health.
They asked:
"People who were diagnosed with cancer: what symptom made you go to the doctor?"
It all begins with recommended health screenings and self checks.
They suck doing, but better safe than sorry.
Stage 4...
"I had sporadic stomach pains that felt like gas pain for like 6 months. Even did a video chat with a doctor about it who told me he wasn't concerned because it didn't sound like appendix or gall bladder issue. Some months later pain was terrible one night."
"Went into the ER and found out I had stage 4 colon cancer. So basically terminal the day I found it at 38 years old. I definitely recommend getting a colonoscopy early or at the very least doing a blood test for CEA which is often produced by colon cancer." ~ Detroit1000
She got lucky...
"They found the cancer on my mom's intestine when they did a hysterectomy... which they only did because she was having abdominal pain and kept insisting something was wrong. Finally her OBGYN was like 'maybe it's a menopause thing? we can remove the uterus?' And then during the surgery they found it (that was a fun post-op visit)."'
"And the surgical oncologist on call happened to be an expert in her exact cancer, which is a rare one. So we were very lucky, and she's in remission now. But they would never have found it in time if she hadn't kept insisting that something was still wrong even when they tried to diagnose her with anxiety." ~ curiouscat86
A Fluke...
"I felt a lump in my wife's breast and convinced her to have it examined. Luckily it was relatively early (stage 2?) and after surgery and chemo she's fully recovered. The funny thing is, I sometimes think her other breast feels kind of lumpy, but she gets examined multiple times a year now and I'm sure they would catch it, so I figure I didn't really know what I was talking about, and it was only a fluke that I thought it was cancer and made her go see the doctor." ~ resolutefool
Better safe than sorry...
"Not myself, but my dad. Mostly little minor things that may or may not have been because of cancer, but the big indicator was his rather sudden inability to poop. Within about two or three months he went from normal to 'haven't been able to poop in 5 weeks.'"
"First doc misdiagnosed him, a month and a half and an ambulance ride later found out he had late stage 3/stage 4 colon cancer. Wasn't a whole lot they could do at that point, but there were things that improved his quality of life for the remainder of his life. They gave him 6 months, he lasted 2 years. The moral of the story is if you can't poop, go see a doc ASAP. Not being able to poop is not normal, and is not okay. Better safe than sorry." ~ Alphalfa91
Being 11...
"Had a grapefruit-sized lump forming in my upper thigh/hip area. Seeing as I was a naive 11 year old I thought it was a hernia or puberty related. Turned out to be primitive small cell sarcoma that spread to my lungs. Been all clear for 13 years now. Just left to deal with the mental aftermath and the potential of aftermath of the high strength drug treatment I was given at such a young age." ~ TheIconSting
This is all a lot, I know.
But so imperative to know.
Every little bit of information can be life saving.
Back in 2013...
"Woke up one morning with extreme abdominal pain. Went to the ER and was diagnosed with appendicitis. Had surgery that night to remove appendix and was released from the hospital the next day. A week later my surgeon called me and told me they found a tumor in my abdomen and sent a biopsy to the Mayo Clinic. Was diagnosed with psuedomyoxoma peritonei. 2 months later had surgery and chemo to remove the tumor. This was back in 2013." ~ user deleted
These Low Effort Jobs Have Surprisingly High Salaries | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Have you ever worked one of those jobs that paid you to kinda sit there? If you have, you know the joy that comes with watching the entirety of Breaking Bad ...Feces...
"Blood in my poop. Told my doctor, had a colonoscopy and they found stage IV colon cancer. Been dealing with it for almost 2 years now." ~ ericlathrop
"I pray you're doing well now. Can I just ask, how did you detect blood in your feces? Was it full on blood, or dark spots in your feces? Because I've got dark spots in mine, not full on red blood... it might just be a result of what I eat, but I'm scared it might be something else." ~ Sky-lander
Oh Dad...
"Not me, my dad. He bought one of those stair lifts, used and after it was installed he fell off it (I'm not sure about exactly what happened) and was injured. He went to get checked for this injury because it kept hurting. They found a tumor in his kidney."
"Had a colonoscopy pre-op and they found another spot as well. They did surgery for both, removed the one kidney in full and two places on the colon. Neither cancer was related which is good because that means one had not spread. My dad will be 80 later this month."
"He is 2 years later and cancer free. He gets regular checkups and includes prior colonoscopys. The only way they might have found this would be a CT scan of the body, which they don't just do. I did recently hear that they don't recommend colonoscopy after a certain age which I find strange. But maybe it was without family history or something." ~ iluvminiatures
Bloodwork...
"I had a cough that got progressively worse over a few months to the point I was barely able to talk above a hoarse whisper. X-ray showed a shadow near my lungs, CT showed a softball-sized mass crushing my left lung, bloodwork, bone marrow biopsy and PET confirmed non-hodgkins lymphoma. Not what I was expecting at 25, but I went through 7 months of treatment and have been in remission for almost 8 years now!" ~ barnettjm2
The Aorta...
"I woke up struggling to catch my breath. Went to my physician and was told it's nothing, despite being able to feel a bulge in my abdomen. After another day of wheezing I got a CAT scan and was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer, it'd already spread to both lungs and the other kidney, with the original tumor being the size of a grapefruit and had attached to my aorta. Been cancer free for 15 years now." ~ drumeradam11
CHECK-UPS!!!
"I had no symptoms; it was caught on a routine mammogram when it was too small to feel, even by experienced doctors, and it was just below the skin. Get your screenings! Mine was like a web, and you know when you look at a crack on the sidewalk and there's a slightly wider area? That's what the mammogram looked like."
"And I almost didn't have the biopsy because the doctor thought it was probably benign. ZOMG am I glad I did, except for one moment when I thought, 'If I hadn't had that biopsy, I wouldn't be going through this right now' and then went, 'Nope, nope, nope, you'd be going through something worse later if you hadn't done it.'" ~ notthesedays
Allergic to Air
"Around Thanksgiving last year I had a lump on my neck and that was the one that made me go in for cancer specifically. For a whole year I had been scratching myself crazy as if I was allergic to air. Had been going to the doctor every couple months trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me. Night sweats so bad I'd change my sheets every day for a month."
"A week of no hunger at all towards about when the lump showed up. Never weighed myself but I dropped down to 120 lbs apparently. Wasn't till that lump showed up that everything clicked. I had Hodgkins lymphoma (blood cancer) stage 4. Obviously I'm alive but they don't call you cured till you've gone 2 years without a problem. A year and some to go till I'm cured." ~ AhegaoMilfHentai
The Healthiest
"Not me, my ex boyfriend. He had a UTI that wouldn’t go away. Scans revealed non treatable cancer throughout his major organs (can’t remember the name of it but it was very rare). He had surgery, chemo, radio, the works. Died less than a year after being diagnosed. He was 21 and the healthiest person I’ve ever met." ~ moonshadowfax
Sensations
"Only semi-relevant as it wasn't cancerous, but the symptoms were caused by a primary tumor. It started with I thought were weird migraines. In addition to headaches, I'd just randomly vomit with only about 2-3 seconds warning and occasionally get really intense deja-vu like sensations about memories I knew couldn't possibly real. Later, this progressed to full tonic-clonic seizures." ~ Moctor_Drignall
X-rays...
"I had knee pains, started in my right knee, than my left. Had x-rays done, they found nothing, then pain started in my hip than to my back, more x-rays, the doctor notice a spot, had a cat scan or MRI down, don't remember and that when the notice the tumor on my spine." ~ ColEvilDead
If in doubt...
"Found a lump just above my collarbone. Only found it by chance when I woke up with a bad neck. In hindsight I'd been suffering with crippling fatigue - no energy to get off the couch, sleeping for 9 hrs and waking up as if I'd never had a sleep, napping for 2/3hrs at a time. Turned out to be stage 2 Hodgkins lymphoma, unfavourable due to the spread in my lymph nodes. I'm halfway through treatment and responding well. If in doubt, always go and get checked out." ~ hobslaur
Throat
"I got out of the shower and was drying my legs, for a few weeks I felt pressure around my throat but this time it was immense. Looked in the mirror and my face had turned blue. I had an 11cm tumour putting pressure on my throat and my arteries. I'd had breathing problems and itching and sweats night and day time for weeks. B cell stage 4 NHL. 10 years later and I have another child they said I never would and I'm okay." ~ cupantae88
Again, not normal...
"Can I answer for my brother? (He's no longer with us?) It was his weight gain. Two doctors in the state of Oregon said it was a thyroid problem -- the third in Maryland (USA) finally did tests and confirmed it was, indeed, cancer. He was hungry all the time, which wasn't normal."
"He also began talking about coffins, burial plans, and heaven. Again, not normal. Sadly, they weren't able to do much, but now we can educate others. If you ever feel swollen, sore, or hurt in your lymph nodes, or begin gaining weight randomly. It's better safe than sorry." ~ life_sentencer
Coughing Blood
"December 2015: my Dad passed out in the middle of the day. Luckily he was in public (and not alone at home) and some people called the ambulance. 2 days at the hospital and it's clear: lung cancer that has already spread into multiple other organs. October 1st 2016: died in the middle of the night. Coughed up a ton of blood, tried to reach the phone to call help, fell and cracked his head open." ~ DrPCox85
Hip Health
"Not me, but my mum had a sore hip for a couple of months. She tried Physio, Chiro, acupuncture etc. Eventually I convinced her to see a Dr and get a scan. By then it was too late, she had stage 4 lung cancer (never smoked in her life) which had metastasised and spread throughout her bones. She got lucky and put onto trial so we got to keep her for 2 years, otherwise she would have had 2 months." ~ moonshadowfax
So heartbreaking but with many uplifting outcomes.
Stay on top of research and screening.
We can beat cancer.
One survivor at a time.
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A serious amount of introspection occurs when you're stuck at home with nothing but your Netflix watchlist and your thoughts to comfort you.
We've learned a lot, and seen a lot, as evidenced by these stories below.
Reddit user, idk_you_decide, wanted to know what new knowledge you've picked up during lockdown when they asked:
"What do we only know now because of the pandemic?"
Pre-existing health issues aside: Masks are not that big a deal.
We're All Ninjas, Aren't We?
"Many people look better with masks on"
ObessiusPrime
It's Really Not That Bad Stop Being Dramatic
"Life with masks is suprisingly comfortable"
nicholasbuchanan
"Masks also keep out bad odors, like cigarette smoke. It also helps when you're on public transit with a bunch of other people"
idk_you_decide
"I think I'd rather have no masks than masks, but I do see some benefits for them even when this pandemic is over."
"I haven't gotten sick in almost two years, not even a cold. And they really don't impede life much. I've gone to work with them in, flown with them on, shopped, even done super intensive workouts with them on."
"I think when this pandemic is over, I'll where them whenever I'm sick, or in public transportation."
bestprocrastinator
It's hard to recall what we thought of our fellow man before the pandemic fell on us. Did we think we were all a little bit smarter? Because after this past year and a half, it's certainly become obvious many people should go back to school.
Will Not Even Do The Bare Minimum
"Some people won't do the bare minimum to help others."
Syric13
"I was thinking the same thing. I was shocked to see how selfish and inconsiderate some people are out there."
idk_you_decide
"Yes I didnt know that people could be so stubborn, selfish, and inconsiderate until this pandemic, you tell people to do one thing for the safety of others, and they fight it tooth and nail"
idkbbitswatev
That's The End Of That Expression
"People don’t actually avoid things like the plague."
elositoesaqui
"I have rights." - "Way too many people"
Waffle-Azul
"They do have rights. What they lack is common sense and proper interpretation of those rights."
Ok_Butterscotch1549
I Read It On "Totally Real News Dot Com"
"Anti-intellectualism runs far deeper than previously imagined."
PlayDontObserve
"I thought it was 5% of the population. Turns out it closer to 30%."
siromega
Because Science Is Hard
"That most people have no actual idea how viruses and science works"
FireTrickle
Wearing It Like A Giant Red Flag
"Some people will do whatever they can to showcase to the world how sh-tty they are."
ManMan36
These Low Effort Jobs Have Surprisingly High Salaries | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Have you ever worked one of those jobs that paid you to kinda sit there? If you have, you know the joy that comes with watching the entirety of Breaking Bad ...We Never Needed To Know Who This Man Was
"Dr. Anthony Fauci. He's been one of the country's top medical scientists for decades. Most people never heard of him till trump brought him out into the spotlight to take part in his song-and-dance."
TheBelhade
Not everything we learned helped us.
Sometimes, what we learned were the worst kind of lessons of all.
We Didn't Have To Grind Ourselves Into The Ground
"There could have been a work life balance a long time ago."
ifruitninja
"Work from home is possible even in the worst time (a pandemic)."
"Imagine you could’ve worked from home and still met all your friends and family, celebrated together, went to bars and clubs."
"Work life balance would have been way better and digital meetings way more accepted."
Der_Neugierige
We Could Have Left Sooner
"At my job I thought I was irreplaceable. That if I took a day off it would all come crumbling down. Turns out nope. I quit and they replaced me almost immediately like I wasn’t even there at all."
"Don’t let your natural desire to fit in and contribute take away from what really matters."
Ok_Butterscotch1549
Rather Than Believe The Truth...
"That people really like conspiracies. Seriously many people who i know have either started believing them or began to believe them even more. And now it's impossible to talk with them. Not that i want to talk with people like them."
folgore248
Anything To Keep Hold
"Many people in power care more about appeasing their base than they do about actual science and public health."
"For many people, death is an acceptable outcome if you are old or have a preexisting condition, even if it could have been prevented with minor inconvenience to yourself."
SquirrelChaser515
Made In...Where?
"Just how dependent the USA is on China based on the supply chain situation l."
"I mean, I think we knew about this years ago but I really feel that people are starting to realize just how dependent the USA is on China for goods."
DarthGabe2142
Maybe Disaster Movies Are More Accurate Than We Thought
"That the world is not prepared for any kind of disasters"
Jedibri81
"And that the government and police aren't reliable to help."
pessimist_kitty
"Especially not here in America. Our infrastructure is woefully lacking in many areas."
"I suppose that's what happens when corporations more-or-less monopolize and run the country."
IiASHLEYiI
"That all movies about pandemics/zombie outbreaks/world disasters are even more unrealistic if a large portion of the population is not in denial that it is actually happening."
CanisNummun
"I think that's why Game of Thrones really struck a nerve. It opens with a zombie attack then spends several books/seasons focusing on governments who think the zombies aren't real and that it's isn't something to worry about. I remember trying to get into the Shannara Chronicles, but as soon as the heroes told the king awful event imminent, and the king was like "We'll hatch a plan and stop this immediately," I tuned out."
Agreeable_Vast_2269
Some People...That's The Biggest Takeaway. Some. People...
"We'll never achieve herd immunity to COVID-19 if ~30% of people refuse to get vaccinated. It's not that we didn't know high immunization rates were needed, it was the flat out refusal to get the shot by a large portion of society that was an unknown."
tusharbhutt
"Some people would rather die than be considerate human beings. It's extremely disappointing and disheartening"
idk_you_decide
Perhaps the biggest lesson we can all keep: Try to be a better person after all this. Help your fellow man and understand that there's more than just you in the world.
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You don't always have to be in pain to feel like you're in pain.
Reddit user, katherinezetajones, wanted to know the worst things to avoid when they asked:
"What’s the most uncomfortable (without being painful) feeling in the world?"
As stated above, maybe it's not even a painful feeling you're experiencing. Perhaps it's something you can't stop, an experience that never ends, or feels like it never ends, that can make your entire day a little worse.
Slowly Walking The Minutes Tick Over
"being dreadfully tired but unable to sleep all night and have to go to work in less than two hours"
yParticle
"It actually makes me emotional, like I'm pleading with my brain to just fall asleep already."
The_sad_zebra
"And then about a half hour before you have to get up you get sleepy."
Boop-D-Boop
Especially When It's Doing It All Day Long
"A sock falling down inside your shoe."
sub1975
"My cousin calls this a “quitter”
ladyshastadaisy
"I see your sock falling down inside your shoe and raise you your underwear falling down inside your pants"
Fluffy_Momma_C
Wedged Right In There
"Having something stuck between my teeth with no floss in sight."
Grapezard
"Do you have no toothpicks over there?"
tarnishedhuntress
"Those wooden toothpicks are a sensory nightmare to me. I’ll wait until I can find one of my flossers."
koboldfightclub
Clamping Down Mobility
"A shirt that is too tight in the armpits."
NurseCthulhu
"Important. When I sweater shop for my dog I make sure the armpits aren’t too tight. Imagine having that feeling on four arms and not being able to get out of it"
katherinezetajones
"Specially when you are trying to reach for something the shirt won’t let you and it just rips"
Different_Attorney93
Being ill doesn't always mean you're in pain, but that doesn't mean the ordeal is any more enjoyable.
So Close, But So Far
"Severe nausea with no vomiting."
d3jake
"I feel this. I don’t even mind throwing up anymore, it’s just a way to purge the nausea. I’d take throwing up over constant nausea any day."
NTSLordofSquee
Not The Worst When It Comes To Illness, But Absolutely The Worst
"Having a clogged nose"
Tieye42
"I had breakthrough Delta and this was the worst symptom I had. Both nostrils clogged, and no matter how much snot I was able to blow/steam out, they didn’t clear enough to have even a moments relief."
"After like 4 days of it I actually cried out of frustration. I just wanted to be able to breathe and sleep more than a couple of hours at a time without waking up choking on my own snot."
Neuro_Nightmare
Yeah, That Sounds Like A...Oh.
"When it constantly feels like you have to pee, and you keep going to pee but there’s no pee to pee (I guess UTI is what I’m looking to say)"
hoagieofftheinternet
And then there's these situations, feelings of absolute and utter discontent of which you can't escape, but no actual, physical pain is felt.
I Fell Bad For Your, Bruh
"second hand cringe/embarrassment"
"especially if it's happening right in front of you"
I_Love_Small_Breasts
"There’s a cool word in German that perfectly describes that: Femdschämen"
puppy_cuddle
"Once at a school dance, my one friend who CRAVES attention liked to just walk in front of a bunch of people and start busting out moves. I had to look away."
GentleCornDogEater24
The Most Uncomfortable Paper Ever
"Sitting on the paper in the doctor’s office in just your underwear, waiting"
Kelimnac
"How about just wearing the paper “gown” they give you plus socks?"
mst3k_42
Maybe after reading this go find the most comfortable blanket you can, make a cup of tea, and curl up on the couch and binge your favorite show. Seems to be the right course of action.
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