I am glad this thread is getting some views and hope my posts can be discussed or helpful to members and guests.
Here's a write up of my own misdiagnosis and all you tumor or cancer waiting to be diagnosed people may find helpful.
MY MISDIAGNOSED STORY II
It was around 6 years back before I got married. It was late afternoon and I felt like having a snack. I had some momo (Chinese type dumplings) and was enjoying munching away, when suddenly an intense sharp pain hit me right in my left jaw. It was unbearable pain and I sat down in agony until the pain finally subsided.
At first I had the impression that while I was eating, my jaw must have got some sort of dislocation. The pain never returned and I was busy with my daily routines.
It was a few months later that my Late Brother in Law, Capt. Sabin Basnet came to my house. I was in the kitchen, eating when he noticed a small lump in my left jaw and told me to get it checked out.
Several weeks passed and I finally went to a Dentist friend who advised for digital x-Ray of my jaw. She looked at the report and said it must be that the upper joint of the jaw has slipped forward a bit. Thus, the protrusion. I took the report to an orthopedic surgeon and he said the same. He even advised me to chew gum.
Now several years passed and am married and my brother in law has passed away in a Helicopter Rescue Operation in Solukhumbu region. I look in the mirror and the lump looks to have slowly slowly increasing in size but no pain. I hold the lump in my fingers and it's hard but can move it a little bit.
Now, I'm trying to figure out which Dr to go and get a check up with. I decide on an ENT because of the proximity to the ear and also the air passage of my left ear goes not feel the same. The ENT does a physical examination of the lump and brushes it off to do nothing since it's not making life difficult for me. He recommends me to get a FNAC done in one his referrals. The FNAC was not painful but left a weird feeling after the doc jabbed it about 3 times to withdraw samples.
Finally the report comes out as chronic Sialadenitis and I was happy with the report. The ent doc even said he would remove the lump with a simple procedure called a Lumpectomy. I gave it some thought because I wanted this lump (about the size of a big marble) out purely for cosmetic reasons and symmetrical face. But decided not to do anything at that moment since I had issues with my wife's ENDO as well. that time she too was not diagnosed for ENDO.
So there I am going from hospital to hospital trying to find out the cause of pain for my wife. One family doctor, a urologist advised me to get another FNAC done because he knew the guy that did the FNAC on me and didn't think highly of him.
Now am in Delhi, wife's recovering from her diagnostic laproscopy and I suddenly remember what the urologist said. Since I was in an international Class hospital, headed to the lab and asked to get a FNAC done. The FNAC process was a bit different, more than jabbing, I could see the guy turning something like a manual drill and it was making a "khrik-khrik" sound.The next day my wife got discharged and also had a glance at my report. It's different to my Nepal report, it's says Pleomorphic Adenoma with advise of Hystopathalogy.
But I never got a chance to remove it there as I was too busy caring for my wife and we returned to Kathmandu. Till now am still very occupied looking after her. Need to take her for evacuation tomorrow.
In concluding, if I had done the lumpectomy. The chances of my Pleomorphic Adenoma turning malignant would have increased significantly as the Lumpectomy procedure does not take out clear margins. Also if you are from a small town, it may be wiser to seek proper diagnosis in a bigger city and an institution which is renowned. Preferably your pathologist should have credentials in getting trained in the top pathology institute in your country or abroad. No matter how good the dr is if the team is bad, you suffer. A word about FNAC, these days an ultrasound guided FNA can be used. This is the safest and most correct way to do FNAC. If not done correctly it may cause spillage and spreading of the tumor or help it turn malignant. After my Partoidectomy surgery to remove my tumor, there was a satellite nodule tumor growing from the main tumor which I feel, may have been caused from the jabbing during FNAC
I would like to write about my experience of a Partoidectomy surgery but that's for another time. But for now let's smash Cardiff and keep the momentum going forward.
Best.
