Advertisement

Woman's warning after chronic back pain was more sinister

After years of chronic pain turned out to be a rare cancer, a “partially disabled” young Adelaide woman has urged other girls to listen to their bodies and get checked if something doesn’t feel right.

Shona Edwards, 23, was diagnosed in March with a tumour at the base of her spine. The pain had become so severe she had to quit her hospitality job.

The student was studying the final year of her classics, archeology and history degree when she received the life-changing news that the pain she had endured for years was actually cancer.

A rare papillary meningioma had wrapped itself around nerves in her lower back.

Young Adelaide woman Shona Edwards warns other girls after chronic pain was actually a tumour.
Young Adelaide woman Shona Edwards has become wheelchair-bound after surgery complications to remove a rare tumour. Source: Shona Edwards

Miss Edwards underwent surgery in May to remove the 8x9x4cm mass, but began to bleed out so the procedure had to be stopped. She suffered severe nerve damage due to complications from the surgery, and has been confined to a wheelchair since.

“I can’t drive anymore. I’ve lost my independence. I’ve lost the ability to jump into the car and get something from the shops,” she said.

While trying to maintain a positive attitude, the young women, who describes herself as “partially disabled” told Yahoo7 she was forced to drop her studies to part time and can no longer live an independent life.

“At my age, you’re just about to get started on everything, but there’s this spanner in the works.”

Young Adelaide woman Shona Edwards warns other girls after chronic pain was actually a tumour.
Shona Edwards was studying the final year of her classics, archeology and ancient history undergraduate degree when she received the life-changing news. Source: Shona Edwards

‘Speak out about chronic pain’

Miss Edwards said GPs often overlook young women’s complaints of back and abdominal pain as being menstrual-related and urged others to get checked if they it could be something more.

She admitted living with chronic pain made it difficult to describe her level of pain, but wants her story ensure others push for scans that could lead to early detection and prevent future complications.

“People need to listen to pain… GPs are not really equipped for specific things so it’ sometimes easy to overlook things.

“I’m telling my friends to check themselves. Listen to your body, get a scan,” she said.

“You want to fix things now before they deteriorate over time.”

Young Adelaide woman Shona Edwards warns other girls after chronic pain was actually a tumour.
After years of chronic pain turned out to be a rare cancer, the “partially disabled” young Adelaide woman has urged other girls to listen to their bodies and get checked if something doesn’t feel right. Source: Shona Edwards

World-leading radiation therapy in Prague

With the tumour being inoperable in its current form, Miss Edwards and her mum are off to Prague, Czech Republic, next week for Proton Beam radiation therapy – a specialist treatment that can’t be done here.

The trip was partially funded through a GoFundMe page set up to help Miss Edwards with ongoing medical costs and treatment, however the family is looking to spend an additional $100,000 to cover the Prague trip alone.

Once the tumour has been shrunken, surgeons here will attempt to remove the mass in hopes of stopping it from spreading and give Miss Edwards the best quality of life.