Woman says doctor dismissed cancer concerns because of her weight
A woman has warned others to listen to their instincts after she claimed a doctor dismissed her colon cancer symptoms because of her weight.
Amanda Lee, from the US, posted a TikTok about her struggle to get diagnosed last week on the one-year anniversary of her frustrating appointment with a gastroenterologist.
The clip begins with an old video of Ms Lee crying in her car after leaving the doctor’s office.
She sobs as she explains that she told the doctor it was painful for her to eat, after which he responded “maybe that’s not such a bad thing”.
After the initial video ends, Ms Lee explains that just a month after she recorded the devastating moment another doctor diagnosed her with colon cancer, finally providing an answer for her severe abdominal pain.
“It still baffles me that a doctor ignored all of my textbook colon cancer symptoms to just put fat, ignorant, lazy medicine on me instead,” she said.
Woman demands apology from doctor
In an interview with Buzzfeed, Ms Lee, who underwent chemotherapy and is now in remission, detailed her battle to book the appointment with the gastroenterologist.
“I’ve always had GI issues, and they’ve always been ignored,” she said.
“I was getting really sick, dropping weight, not consuming any food, and I was trying to get my insurance to send me to a GI.”
Ms Lee said she changed medical providers so she could see a specialist as soon as possible.
“I called [my insurance company] in a panic like, 'I am so sick. This has been months of me being sick. Please get me a doctor as soon as possible’,” she said.
After the appointment she fought so hard for ended badly, Ms Lee said she sat in her car and cried for half an hour before walking back in and demanding an apology.
"I knew that it was wrong, deep down inside me,” she told Buzzfeed.
“There are only so many times that a doctor can tell you that it’s your fault that you’re sick, it’s your fault that you’re fat, or that you’re useless for being fat. There’s only so many times that you can hear that."
Ms Lee said the doctor didn’t apologise, but instead told her she was too “sensitive”.
When she shared the footage of her upset in her car, Ms Lee said viewers encouraged her to continue to seek answers and not give up.
A month later a new physician ordered her to undergo a colonoscopy and discovered a cancerous tumour in her colon.
Ms Lee credits TikTok with helping save her life.
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