My knee pain turned out to be rare cancer and I had my leg amputated

A woman in Scotland had to have her leg amputated after doctors failed to diagnose her cancer for three years. Rebekah Laverty, 29, from Glasgow, complained about debilitating knee pain for years. Doctors injected the tumor with steroids and even tried to drain fluid from the solid mass, causing her excruciating pain, as they continuously failed to help her.

After three years, Laverty was finally diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer, synovial sarcoma. The cancer occurs in soft tissue, such as muscles or ligaments and affects only one to three people out of every million. “I’m so angry they got it wrong for so long and I had to go through so much,” Laverty told Jam Press.

“I decided to document my journey as when I was first diagnosed it was a very scary time and synovial sarcoma is a very rare type of cancer, therefore, there wasn’t very many people I could turn to for answers. ” She hopes documenting and sharing her journey will help others who might find themselves in a similar situation. Laverty had been receiving unsuccessful treatment from a rheumatologist for about a year.

“I was on six tablets a day with weekly blood tests to ensure the mix of medicines weren’t damaging me. On top of that I was given steroid injections into my knee which never seemed to help – in fact, they heightened the risk that my cancer could spread and grow,” Laverty explained. On several occasions, doctors attempted to drain the fluid from her tumor thinking it was just swelling causing her “agonizing” pain.

She even had several X-rays which all came back clear before a doctor finally recommended her for an MRI, which found a 5-inch mass above her right knee. A biopsy confirmed the devastating diagnosis several weeks later. “I received the news that I had this cancer at an appointment that I went to on my own.

By then I’d been to countless appointments with no answers so I had no faith that this time would be any different,” Laverty said. “I called my partner in shock and I was sent to the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre the same day to discuss my treatment. ” Laverty was told that she would need to undergo three to four rounds of chemotherapy and 25 rounds of radiotherapy.

“Each chemo round lasted for four days and I had to stay over in hospital each time. I was violently sick, I needed blood transfusions and I lost all my hair,” she explained. “Thankfully I never had any side effects from radiotherapy other than redness on the area being treated.

Through all of that I was just so grateful to finally have answers. ” After the intense treatments, Laverty was given three surgical options to try and cure the cancer, two of which would save her leg and the third was amputation. “It was the hardest decision for me to make,” she said.

“I knew I was going to go from an able-bodied person to a disabled person overnight. But I also knew amputation was the best solution to give me the best chance possible. ” Laverty is still recovering from her amputation, attending weekly physio appointments to build strength and uses a zimmer frame or wheelchair to get around for now.

She’s also fund-raising for a £90,000 ($107,307) bionic leg to allow her to “enjoy life with no limitations. ” “I have only been out in public twice and I was dreading it to begin with. I was dreading the looks but it wasn’t as bad as I thought,” she said.

“I get the occasional stare but it doesn’t bother me too much. I’m just glad to be cancer-free right now and hope it stays that way. “I always think how there are people much worse than me.

Although this is life-changing, I won’t let it be life-limiting. ” Laverty is aiming to be back on two feet by her 30th birthday next year. “Eventually I want to live life with no limitations, how I was when I still had my leg.

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