A FATHER whose GP sent him home with antibiotics due to a suspected infection was later told he had cancer.
Darrell McDonald was misdiagnosed for more than two months before discovering he had synovial sarcoma.
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The 44-year-old first noticed a lump on his neck in 2020, during the height of Covid.
His local surgery was reluctant to see him due to the pandemic, but eventually suggested it was probably an infection and prescribed him antibiotics.
The lump refused to go away, so Darrell had an ultrasound and a biopsy, but doctors still couldn’t identify what was causing it.
Then, on his 40th birthday, when he was also due to celebrate being offered a new job, the father-of-two received “horrendous” news.
He had synovial sarcoma – a type of cancer that usually develops in the cells around joints and tendons.
Synovial sarcomas are so rare that they account for less than half of one percent of all cancer diagnoses.
Recalling when he got the call about his new role, Darrell, from Twickenham, south-west London, said: “They commented: ‘You don’t seem to be excited about the news.’
“I said, ‘Actually, I just found out I have cancer.’
The charity worker then had a PET-CT scan, which revealed the cancer had spread to his lungs and was told the prognosis was poor.
Four weeks later, an MRI detected two lesions in his brain.
Darrell pioneered radiation therapy called CyberKnife to irradiate the tumors in his brain.
As the cancer continued to grow in his lungs, he underwent “very difficult” chemotherapy to try to shrink it.
Darrell said: “They used drugs called doxorubicin and ifosfamide, which are so toxic you can only take six doses of that combination.
“It was so bad that one day I passed out and hit my head on the sink in the hospital bathroom.
“Because of Covid, I was always alone, unable to interact with other patients who were going through the same thing – isolated in my room.
“My family and friends wanted to support me, but restrictions made that difficult – although, as the wonderful people they are, they found ingenious ways to do so, for which I will be forever grateful.
“It was a really horrible time. My children were three and five when I was diagnosed, and it wasn’t easy to know how or what to say to them.
“My wife and children are more than my world; they are my purpose.
“We decided to focus on things we could control and not play the victim but rather fight it and at the same time enjoy the ‘now’ by spending quality time together as a family.
“Of course we have moments of sadness, but we are generally positive and do a lot of things together.”
This cancer thing sucks, right? I wouldn’t wish it and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but I found positives
Darrell McDonald
Darrell’s cancer is terminal.
He desperately wants general practitioners to receive more training to be able to recognize sarcomas and other rare cancers.
“As sarcoma is rare, it is not always considered and therefore including it in the training of GPs and others would help reduce the occurrence of misdiagnosis,” added Darrell.
He also wrote a book called Straight red?which consists of maintaining hope even when the odds are low.
“This is a message not just for cancer, but for life,” the father said.
“This cancer thing sucks, right? I wouldn’t wish that and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
“But I discovered positive points. It’s certainly made me spend my time in a much better way than before, and I love it.”
What is synovial saroma?
Synovial sarcoma usually develops in the cells around joints and tendons.
It can occur anywhere on the body, but is most common on the arms and legs, such as the knee or elbow.
Symptoms may be vague, but a lump or swelling in the soft tissues of the body under the skin is common.
This tends to be slow and painful, but it isn’t always.
Synovial sarcoma is rare, with around 79 cases diagnosed every year in England.
It represents about 2% of all soft tissue sarcomas and about 0.03% of all cancers.
Source: Sarcoma UK
He added: “I’m very lucky to have a great support network around me. I have friends and family who are by my side, for my wife, for the children.
“They understand that we just want to be treated normally and they also want to know about your problems.
“People have been telling me that I’ve been so resilient and positive, so why wouldn’t I want to share that with others?
“We have a lot of time or we may have little time [left]but that’s no reason not to make the most of it or make the most of it.
“Use that really cool perfume or aftershave that you never use because you save it for special occasions.
“I like my kids to do face painting on me. That connection with them and seeing them smile is amazing.”
CALL FOR CHANGE
All profits from the book, sold on Amazon, go to Sarcoma UK “to help combat this horrendous disease”.
Andy French, policy and public relations manager at the charity, said: “Darrell’s story highlights how important it is for people with sarcoma to get an early diagnosis.
“And Darrell is right when he says that people working in the NHS need sarcoma training.
“That’s why at Sarcoma UK we’ve worked with our partners to develop an accredited online training module for GPs, an e-learning module for physiotherapists and a video for medical students and junior doctors.
“These resources aim to help healthcare professionals better recognize the signs and symptoms of sarcoma, addressing exactly the concerns raised by Darrell.
“By giving healthcare professionals the right skills and knowledge, we aim to prevent people with sarcoma from being misdiagnosed; so they can instead get an early diagnosis and quick access to treatment.
“This initiative, along with our continued investment in research and support services, marks a significant advancement in our mission to ensure that everyone affected by sarcoma receives the best treatment, care, information and support available and to create the best treatments for future.”
One in three people wait more than six months to be diagnosed with sarcoma.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
