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A Doctor Said He’d Bet His House I Didn’t Have Cancer. He Was Wrong

A Doctor Said He’d Bet His House I Didn’t Have Cancer. He Was Wrong

Summary

At age 26, Cortney Stevens developed a large blood clot in her left arm, and scans later revealed a six-inch mass in her chest. After one doctor said cancer was unlikely, a Duke University thoracic surgeon urged a biopsy, noting that her symptoms could fit lymphoma.

Key Facts

  • Stevens said she passed out after a run in North Carolina and woke with a swollen, discolored left arm.
  • Hospital tests found a deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot, extending through her left arm from near her jugular vein to her elbow.
  • A review of her chest X-ray revealed a shadow near her heart, and a CT scan showed a six-inch mediastinal mass.
  • Stevens said she had also experienced itchy skin and sudden painful sensitivity to alcohol.
  • A lymph node biopsy produced abnormal results, but further testing of the sample found no cancer.
  • A doctor told Stevens that she did not have cancer and suggested a connective tissue disorder, according to her account.
  • After Stevens sought a second opinion at Duke University, a thoracic surgeon said the mass needed a biopsy and that her presentation could fit lymphoma.
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