A tangle of inconclusive results, feverish frenzy and grim disbelief made my diagnosis the stuff of nightmares!
May 2019 – Just a Viral Fever
It was the end of May during the pleasant Canadian summer. I would come home from work and start my evening with some yoga, prepare a nice supper and binge Netflix. I loved to walk to work every day, feeling the fresh air in my lungs. But that evening, the 15-minute walk felt like it would never end. I felt so exhausted that I fell asleep as soon as I got home. When my husband came home, he woke me up and checked to see if I was okay. I had a fever. The fever fatigue meant that I was in no condition to eat or drink anything. The next morning I continued to feel unwell. Being ill at ease even at work, I decided to leave early for the day. On getting home, I took some Tylenol immediately and slept for the rest of the evening. I continued to have high fever for the next four days. Finally, my husband convinced me to see our doctor. She asked me to get some blood-work done, monitor my temperature for two weeks and then schedule a follow up. She suspected nothing more than a viral fever.
June 2019 – the fever that refuses to go away
After one week, I got a call from my doctor saying that the reports were good. It could be a viral fever and that it will just take time to phase out. Two weeks passed, and but my fevers did not. I went to the emergency room as the fever was persisting in the range of 38.5°C-39.5°C. This was the first time when I felt nervous, worried that something was really wrong with me. After waiting for three hours, they took me in. A bunch of blood work and some x-rays were done and I was advised to stay at home if I had a fever that was below 40.0°C with no symptoms.
All the tests that were done on me so far were negative. I could have a fever of unknown origin. Although surprised to hear this, relief washed over me knowing that it was nothing more than viral. As I had no other symptoms I felt I would be okay soon. It’s just a matter of time. Weeks went by but my fever never went away. I couldn’t go to work. I took “Tylenol 1000 mg” every day as advised. My co-workers were very supportive. They sent me a “get well soon” card with healthy snacks – a sweet gesture!
One day, I fainted in the bathroom and woke up with bruises and blood all over my face. Terrified, I asked myself, “How did this happen? I must have blacked out.” We met with our doctor again. I had a fever every day with no appetite at all. My family doctor spoke on the phone with an Infectious Disease Specialist who advised some more fancy blood tests, an ultrasound and lumbar puncture. When I went for my lumber puncture procedure at the hospital, they saw my blood work and other reports and decided to do my head CT Scan instead. All the blood reports and scans were fine and once again, I was told that it might be a viral fever that was just taking time to go away. A few days later, I developed really high temperature around 42.0°C at late night. I was rushed to the emergency room. After getting all the blood tests and X-rays done all over again, the doctor at emergency referred me to the Internal Medicine Specialist. Two days later, I got a call from internal medicine specialist for my appointment and physical check up.
By that time I had developed other symptoms; chills, mouth sores and tongue blisters to name a few. Needless to say, I could hardly to eat or drink anything. I was prescribed anti-viral medication again but my fever just refused to go away.
July 2019 – still searching for answers
A month passed by, and still no one had any answers to what was going on with me. My reports were all adequate, and my body was not indicating any other symptoms. My husband advocated for me and fought to get a full-body CT-Scan done. It’s been more than a month, and my condition was not getting any better; it was deteriorating day by day. I still had no answers. My husband intended to take me back to India because my family that lived in India were worried about me. The specialist finally scheduled my full body CT Scan but only after hearing our plans to go to India and get treated there.
My CT-Scan report indicated abnormalities. I had to get admitted to the University of Alberta Hospital immediately to get further testing done. An array of scans (CT, PET & MRI), blood tests, X-rays, ultrasound and ultrasound needle biopsies followed. All my reports came out to be either negative or non conclusive. Shortly after, just as suddenly as they had appeared, my fever disappeared completely. I was discharged within a week. I was surprised but relieved and happy that I could resume work and go back to our normal lives.
After about a week, I started having symptoms again. I ended up in emergency again with 41.0°C fever. After waiting for six hours, my check-ups were done once again. I was admitted to the University of Alberta Hospital right away. Once again, blood- work, blood cultures, X-rays, CT scan, PET scan and nuclear medicine scan. I was more frustrated than scared, switching from one ward to another, from one doctor to the other. Finally, my reports were assigned to an Internal Medicine Specialist as no one had any answers to what is happening. Eventually, I underwent a Laparoscopic and Colonoscope procedures, as my PET scan report indicated something alarming. No one had any answers for me. I was in the hospital from then onwards and had no idea what would happen next. I just wanted to go back home to live my normal life. Life, as they say, had other plans.
August 2019 – I started having other symptoms
My face and legs were swollen, I gained 10kgs (22lbs). I was hooked onto IV fluids and medications to treat my fever. I was being poked 10-15 times a day for blood work and several other scans. Red and tender lumps formed in my legs below the knees. The team of doctors at the University hospital had a look at it and different opinions were made out of it. They concluded that it could be a case of an Erythema Nodosum. I googled it to find that Erythema nodosum is a type of skin inflammation that is located in a part of the fatty layer skin. The doctor’s team recommended a bone marrow biopsy, which was a last resort to put a name to my illness. Till now, I had five biopsies and had no answers from our doctor because they were waiting for the final report. I became frustrated and impatient. I was treated as a research patient for registered doctors in a university hospital for a relatively new and rare case. My husband and I couldn’t decide for ourselves so we asked for guidance from our family doctor in India.
All this while I was in the hospital and no one had any definite answers. Reports were sent to a special pathology team in Calgary, and multiple tests were done on my biopsy. My husband and brother would take turns to stay with me at night and bring me food because the hospital food was making me sicker. I felt for them too – it couldn’t have been easy to manage family, work, and hospital visits at the same time. I felt so awful.
All this while I had the love and support of my people. My close friends from Calgary visited me at the hospital to surprise me. My cousin came from Calgary as well to stay and help us out. My colleagues from work came to see me at the hospital. I used to have lunch dates with my husband in the hospital. It was getting exhausting for my husband, so I requested my Mom to come to Canada. Luckily, mom got her visa quickly and travelled to Canada on August 23rd. I was so eager to see her that I could hardly wait. As we all know, moms are the best healers. After a 23-hour long journey, where she travelled alone for the first time (and was nervous about it), my mom was finally with me. When I saw her, I felt that I will be okay now.
Days were passing by but we didn’t hear anything from the doctors. One day they noticed drastic changes in my blood counts and decided to do a skin punch biopsy from my lower back. My husband and I were not at all willing to get it done but gave in to pressure eventually. My husband was by this time massively irked and asked the doctor to discharge me from the hospital and get my papers ready to take me back to India. We decided to book our flight for the 30th, two days after I would’ve been discharged. As fate would have it, right before my discharge, I received the most devastating news of my life. The skin biopsy came out with a positive diagnosis.
“Fight the Fight, Find the Cure”
My Cancer Battle 