Taylor’s Story
Hello, my name is Taylor. My story is an example of how uneducated the medical community is about thymoma, and how thymomas present differently. They can be located in a variety of places in the body.
In 2009, at the age of 17, I had arm numbness, and chest pain. Heart conditions ran rampant in my family, so my mother took me to a cardiologist where I had a heart monitor that showed nothing. After a couple of appointments I had an echo-Cardio-gram, and the doctor was stunned to see a mass near my heart. The room suddenly seemed to fill with doctors; a primary care physician, a couple of cardiologists, a radiologist, and so on. No one had a clue about my condition. They even had me drink something to see if it would disappear. I was sent to a thoracic surgeon at a better hospital. The thoracic surgeon came to the conclusion that I had a “cyst” between my lungs and heart which must have been causing the chest pain. A biopsy was ordered, after which we were told that the cyst had multiple chambers. It had been difficult to get enough fluid, but they did it. The biopsy came back clear.
Over the next year my chest pain was still present. I insisted to my mom that this was not a cyst. I remember telling her numerous times that I had cancer. My tendency to be a bit of a dramatic person caused mom to laugh it off, but she made me another appointment with the thoracic surgeon. At the appointment she insisted that the doctor remove the cyst. We fought very hard to get the doctor to agree that it was a problem.
On March 20th, 2011 I had laparoscopic surgery to remove a “cyst” -- only 3 small incisions. When I woke up, I was told the plans had changed. It was, in fact, a tumor. They were so stunned that they took pictures of it to give to me (I still have them), and I was told they had to make a long slice near my shoulder blade, one 2 inch cut under my arm and an incision on my side for the chest tube to go through my ribs. The worst part of surgery was when they pulled the chest tube out. The results of my “baseball sized” mass were pending.
My mother and I were told it was a thymoma, and I remember the look on my mother’s face. But the thoracic surgeon insisted this was NOT cancer … my mother made sure to ask numerous times.
After 7 years in remission with clear CT’s, I called the thoracic surgeon. I asked for my stage and type which I NEVER had been given. Luckily my thymoma was a stage 1 b2 type. The woman I spoke to was very confused. My samples were frozen under “cyst”. They were never properly taken care of by the thoracic surgeon. Luckily the pathology report showed the truth. I just hope I will never need those samples for anything , because they are gone. Seven years in remission, I am alive and have my own family, but the fear of thymoma hasn’t gone away. I’m not sure if it will ever go away.
Thymomas present with many different symptoms. They aren’t just located on the thymus gland. They can be in your throat or on major organs. More funding is needed for better education about this rare tumor and for more extensive research.
Hello, my name is Taylor. My story is an example of how uneducated the medical community is about thymoma, and how thymomas present differently. They can be located in a variety of places in the body.
In 2009, at the age of 17, I had arm numbness, and chest pain. Heart conditions ran rampant in my family, so my mother took me to a cardiologist where I had a heart monitor that showed nothing. After a couple of appointments I had an echo-Cardio-gram, and the doctor was stunned to see a mass near my heart. The room suddenly seemed to fill with doctors; a primary care physician, a couple of cardiologists, a radiologist, and so on. No one had a clue about my condition. They even had me drink something to see if it would disappear. I was sent to a thoracic surgeon at a better hospital. The thoracic surgeon came to the conclusion that I had a “cyst” between my lungs and heart which must have been causing the chest pain. A biopsy was ordered, after which we were told that the cyst had multiple chambers. It had been difficult to get enough fluid, but they did it. The biopsy came back clear.
Over the next year my chest pain was still present. I insisted to my mom that this was not a cyst. I remember telling her numerous times that I had cancer. My tendency to be a bit of a dramatic person caused mom to laugh it off, but she made me another appointment with the thoracic surgeon. At the appointment she insisted that the doctor remove the cyst. We fought very hard to get the doctor to agree that it was a problem.
On March 20th, 2011 I had laparoscopic surgery to remove a “cyst” -- only 3 small incisions. When I woke up, I was told the plans had changed. It was, in fact, a tumor. They were so stunned that they took pictures of it to give to me (I still have them), and I was told they had to make a long slice near my shoulder blade, one 2 inch cut under my arm and an incision on my side for the chest tube to go through my ribs. The worst part of surgery was when they pulled the chest tube out. The results of my “baseball sized” mass were pending.
My mother and I were told it was a thymoma, and I remember the look on my mother’s face. But the thoracic surgeon insisted this was NOT cancer … my mother made sure to ask numerous times.
After 7 years in remission with clear CT’s, I called the thoracic surgeon. I asked for my stage and type which I NEVER had been given. Luckily my thymoma was a stage 1 b2 type. The woman I spoke to was very confused. My samples were frozen under “cyst”. They were never properly taken care of by the thoracic surgeon. Luckily the pathology report showed the truth. I just hope I will never need those samples for anything , because they are gone. Seven years in remission, I am alive and have my own family, but the fear of thymoma hasn’t gone away. I’m not sure if it will ever go away.
Thymomas present with many different symptoms. They aren’t just located on the thymus gland. They can be in your throat or on major organs. More funding is needed for better education about this rare tumor and for more extensive research.