A grandmother who was given painkillers to cure her neck pain actually has told of her shock at discovering she had “millions of holes” and tumors in her body.
Esther Shoebridge, 59, was diagnosed with myeloma, a type of blood cancer after she had months of “baffling symptoms” including unquenchable thirst and numbness.
She also suffered from neck pain, which was caused by the tumors, but she was just given pain killers by her doctors.
Around five months after she first started experiencing symptoms, Esther was told by doctors she had ‘millions of holes’ in her body and had five years left to live.
She said: “When the consultant told me, ‘You have millions of holes in your spine, neck and skull’, I burst into tears.
“All I could think was that my skull had millions of holes in it and was going to collapse into my head.
“I had had symptoms for months.
“I was constantly trying to hold my neck up and I even bought myself a neck brace.
“I had no idea my neck was actually broken and that two small tumors had blasted their way through my C3.”
The former optician first knew something was wrong in October 2020, when she was drinking around four liters of water a day but was still extremely thirsty.
Around two months later, she felt like she ‘had cricked’ her neck but two tumors were actually pressing against her C3 vertebra which had caused her neck to snap.
She was rushed to A&E in January 2021 after her face went numb and she lost sensation in her skin and she was finally diagnosed with myeloma a month later.
Esther, of Beverley, East Yorks,. said: “I was thirsty every single minute.I was drinking 4L of water a day.
“It was completely out of the blue.
“Then I couldn’t lift a thing. I couldn’t even lift my own kettle.
“I used to go to the gym and be very fit – it was really strange. I also started losing weight.
“I started holding my neck up almost all of the time or going to lay down to rest it.
“I went to the GP twice and they just gave me painkillers.”
Esther had chemotherapy straight away after her diagnosis but the treatment didn’t work as well as expected and her cancer has returned twice over the last three years.
She was told that she has five years left to live but she’s ‘not accepting that’ as she hopes there will be a cure for myeloma soon.
Esther, who is grandmother to Lula, Oxford, Espen and Stormi, said: “I don’t just think, I know, there will be a cure.
“They told me I would last till 2026, but the cancer doesn’t know who it’s dealing with.
“I’m not accepting that. I’m small but I’m tough.
“I go out and walk whatever the weather and, yes, my back aches but I keep fighting, I’ve got to.
“I’m not taking any notice of how long they told me I’ll live.
“I have lots still to do and too much fun to have with my husband, family, bestie and friends.”
Dr. Sophie Castell, Chief Executive at Myeloma UK, says that people who having myeloma symptoms ‘can’t wait’ and need help to ‘catch the disease earlier.’
She said: “Every day counts while you’re waiting for a diagnosis, and yet a third of patients visit their GP at least three times before being diagnosed.
“One of the biggest barriers remains identifying the symptoms quickly and before too much damage is done.
“People with myeloma can’t wait.
“We need your help to spread the word about myeloma, share the translator and catch the disease earlier.”
Produced in association with SWNS Talker
