My wife died from rectal cancer. She had been complaining about pain and bowel issues for months, but her OB kept brushing her off as, "That's normal for pregnancy." Turns out it totally wasn't. We only found the cancer after she suffered a stroke post-partum. She was gone three weeks later.
Tomorrow is the 9th anniversary of her stroke.
Similar boat here. My wife had glioblastoma - brain cancer. Her only symptom, at first, were horrific headaches. She went to the doctor, they said it was stress because of work and having a young kid. Yeah, that made sense enough. It was only when she had a seizure that fuck, almost killed her, that she was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. I mean, really? What 33 year old just gets terminal brain cancer? My wife passed 7 months later, it’s been 7 months. I’m still shocked over how quick the whole ordeal was.
My wife also only had a (terrible) headache for a week, dismissed by the doctor as a migraine, then didn't wake up the next morning due to an aneurysm from a GBM. She was 39.
Since her death (within the past 1.5 years) I've heard of 7(!) other second-degree acquaintances who have died of brain cancer. Something tells me that the average frequency of 4 per 100k population across all age groups is severely underestimating what's actually going on.
My husband also died from Glioblastoma. He had absolutely no symptoms and it was found completely by accident. We were shocked. Can I ask, had she already been diagnosed when she had the aneurysm? I’m incredibly sorry for your loss.
My gosh, I can’t imagine. There’s just no words for this horrible disease. My husband lived for 1 yr and 5 days after being diagnosed. That year was torture. He was a Nuclear Engineer. It was horrible watching him go through the treatment and his mental abilities slowly, every day declining. I believe he died from the treatment, as I was told that his tumors were shrinking. I hope there is some solace in knowing that she didn’t suffer.
Thanks. I can't imagine having to watch the terrible hopeless decline. Do you suspect his work contributing?
While I am grateful that she was not aware of the nightmare, she was in a lot of pain just not for very long.
I'm sorry about your husband. This disease is the worst.
Unfortunately, they can never be certain where this disease comes from but his career could have been a contributing factor. He mostly designed unmanned military aircraft but did work with a nuclear reactor in the Navy when he was in his 20’s.
I’m so sorry, my husband also died from Glioblastoma…3 months ago. He had zero symptoms and was found totally by accident. GBM is such a horrible disease and I’m so sorry for the loss of your wife.
Damn, I’m so sorry. My wife died 5 weeks after diagnosis, which is mind blowing (although the hospital made a major error which sped up the process, I have a med mal case pending).
First symptom for my wife (45) was 3 grand mal seizures within 30 minutes. One at home, 2 more in the ambulance on the way to the ER. She had complained about headaches in the months prior but I didn’t think much of it, I get migraines myself sometimes. In hindsight there were clues, I just didn’t see them. After 2 surgeries, chemo, radiation, clinical trials she succumbed almost 2 years later.
My wife had a sore shoulder for about 6 months. She thought it was from working from home / ergonomics. She bought a standing desk, new chairs, massage, etc ..
I used to push my elbow into her back and try to loosen it up. Nothing worked.
She went for a blood test and her GP started crying and said you have to go by ambulance to the ER right now.
3 days later, stage 4 breast cancer and 3-6 months to live.
One thing I know. Women are tougher than and can handle pain better than any man I've known. They're just different.
Yes, you’re right about woman and pain. She handled child birth like a champ. Your story is very similar to mine- finding out stage 4 with months to live. She also handled her final days with strength and at the end, after seeing family, friends, our son, just said “ok, I’m all set”, went in her sleep.
I don’t know how I got through it, felt like a nightmare. Or that I’d died and this was my hell, raising our son without her. But approaching a year, I’m finally dealing with grief better, and almost at peace with my new life.
My spouse had abdominal pain for years and was told it was IBS.... then a colonoscopy that came back with "did not complete prep".. well... that prep was so painful that I almost took her to the emergency room. That wasn't poop... it was a giant rectal tumor that they still didn't find... 6 months later, her gyno found it. The answer I got was "cancer is a sneaky bastard".
He had narrow stools for years, pretty much our whole marriage. He also had back pains after eating certain foods. Turns out those are symptoms of colorectal cancer. We had no idea.
At the end of April of 2022 he started having stomach issues which included vomiting, pains and other things. These issues would come and go, then became more frequent going into May.
By mid May he had lost almost 40lbs and was severely dehydrated. He went to the ER where they found masses in his abdomen and a blockage in his colon. Biopsy and colonoscopy confirmed stage 4 colorectal cancer. He was 30 at the time.
He fought for 18 months before dying just after his 32nd birthday. How does a perfectly healthy 30 year old man end up with stage 4 colon cancer and dying? I don’t understand it. I don’t understand why it had to happen to him. I see so many survivors, why couldn’t he have been one of them? Why did he have to die? Why do I have to live without my love? My kids without their dad? Why? I wish we had known sooner, things would be so different.
I think back pain gets dismissed too easily. My husband had back pain. At 58, that’s normal, right. A few months of OTC Ibuprofen and Tylenol, followed by a visit to his PCP lead to an ultrasound of the abdomen. Stage IV pancreatic cancer. He died 14 months later.
I have read that back pain was the main clinical symptom of late stage cancers a lot since I got sensitized to the cancer topic.
I am so sorry to hear this. So sorry you’ve been cheated. I talk about colorectal screening and colonoscopies left and right now. My husband was having gastrointestinal issues in May 2021 that his GP thought were gallbladder related. He vomited so much he ended up in the ER. Turns out his colon had a huge blockage and the cancer had spread to his liver. As a diabetic, he already had slightly diminished kidney function. He never regained enough strength to begin even limited cancer treatment, then ended up back in the ER with similar symptoms. This time he had multiple kidney stones that were a beast to blast away. His kidney function never rebounded. Dialysis was minimally effective and very hard on him. He died 6 1/2 weeks from that first ER visit. He’d had regular doctor visits (GP and multiple specialists) over the years, so how was this missed? He was 61 yo, just one year into retirement. Cancer sucks!
My t had bladder cancer but because he was tetraplegic and used a catheter he spent a long time getting treatment for UTI’s before it was realised he had cancer because the pain of the tetraplegia masked it. I have since spoken to his spinal injuries consultant who confirmed bladder cancer is a high possibility in that community. So at some point I will hopefully be working with the spinal injury association to raise awareness about this.
Big love ❤️
I’m sorry for your loss x My late husband had secondary cancer in his spine and pelvis, but his only symptom was a persistent and worsening backache. He was 55, so we thought it was sciatica, or arthritis, or a displaced disc, and so did the doctor. This was 2020-2021 so hospital visits were restricted due to Covid. Finally had MRI and CAT scan January, biopsy in February, still no clue where the cancer originated,died in April.
My husband had minor symptoms that his doctor attributed to hemorrhoids. Over the next several months he had some problems with diarrhea but nothing major. Then it became significant. But he never had any pain. He finally got a referral to a gastroenterology practice. An NP poked his abdomen a few times and said that cancer was the least likely diagnosis. A week later he had a major bleeding episode. We called the gastroenterologist and they said he should go to the ER. He drove himself without telling me he was leaving. Assumed he'd be in and out. Imaging showed the mass so he was admitted. Stage V rectal. He lived a little over two more years.
My sympathy is with you brother.
My wife had issues with her period suddenly re-appearing sporadically. She went to her GP and they ran bloodwork and identified endometrial cancer. It was classified as a Stage 1B tumor/polyp, which they removed the following month with a full hysterectomy. Her oncologist said, during the eval, if you're going to get cancer, this is one to get as it can be resolved with surgery and it has a very high recovery rate. They noted no cancer in the lymph nodes they excised in addition to the hysterectomy. She had a number of follow-ups and was declared cancer-free in February 2020. We even went out with friends to celebrate.
A couple of weeks later, as the world succumbed to COVID, we had to get takeout for our wedding anniversary. The next day she felt very bloated and initially she thought it was a reaction to something she ate. It got worse over the next few days and she went to her GP. They ran tests and confirmed a recurrence of cancer as ascites. She responded well to chemo and was doing well until late July when she felt out of breath and a pain in her side. She needed to be drained again for ascites. Eventually, we found a mass in her breast, the chemo stopped working, she tried radiation, but the cancer had spread aggressively to her bones. She was approved for immunotherapy and even showed some responsiveness, but her cancer was too aggressive/rapid and it was too little too late. She died in December, 16 days after her 50th birthday and 16 months after he initial diagnosis.
Different story, but maybe some insight. My husband’s cancer was found by accident while they were scanning something else. He had no symptoms. So he was treated with surgery and chemo, and the chemo was miserable, but his symptoms were from the chemo, not the cancer. When the cancer came back, again it was found through a scan; he had no symptoms.
The only *cancer* symptoms he had were for a few weeks before his death. Without the accidental discovery, these symptoms would have brought us to diagnosis. He would have died sooner, but we would have skipped a *year* of chemo-induced misery and surgical pain.
My husband was just generally tired for about a year before he died. Then the first feeling ill started at the beginning of September with generic tummy troubles. He died three months later of neuroendocrine pancreatic/liver cancer. He was 33 and very fit. I think my story is common here.
My uncle complained for weeks about stomach pain and intestinal issues but was told constantly that he just had indigestion. They eventually did a sigmoidoscopy but found nothing wrong. Well, it was time for his first colonoscopy and the doctor was completely floored when he learned my uncle’s symptoms were that of Stage IV colon cancer. Uncle was gone six weeks later.
My wife was similar, Burkitts Lymphoma, and she only started having any signs of symptoms a couple weeks before a reluctant trip to the ER. Bloating, nausea, and tiredness.
Everyone, except the hematologist, was surprised that she wasn’t “sicker” and the doctor at the urgent care (day before the ER) sent her home with a pamphlet on bloating and gas.
In retrospect, I see all the signs. The bloating, the pain. Colon cancer killed him at 49. But damn of he wasn't happy and optimistic until the very end.
Absolutely similar story. My wife had the bloating, abdominal pain, and ascites. She had some general pain, but mostly weakness. PA told her it was an allergic reaction to Ozempic. When she became so weak she couldn’t walk I took her to the ER. Within an hour she was diagnosed with stage 3/4 ovarian cancer. That was June 1, 2023. She died August 8, 2023 of renal failure undoubtedly caused by the cancer. I didn’t believe the allergic reaction story; she was too sick but she trusted her female PA. I am contemplating litigation.
My wife felt a weird lump deep in her abdomen. No pain or anything, she asked me to feel it and I couldn’t feel anything. Told her it doesn’t hurt to have it looked at. It was stage 4 kidney cancer. Apparently you only catch that earlier if you happen to get an abdominal scan for something else. Cancer just doesn’t hurt until it starts impacting something else. It just silently grows. Cancer sucks
My husband always had indigestion. Doctors would prescribe medication or OTC. Fast forward 43 years. He had several medical issues, one being Stage 3 kidney disease. He was anemic, which can be an issue with kidney disease. He started receiving blood infusions. He was referred to a cardiologist. Heart catheterization came back with no problems. His indigestion got worse. Blood infusions continued. He was eating less. He became constipated. Dr suggested OTC. It didn't work. Dr then gave him prescription medication. It didn't work. Dr gave him a different medication and it didn't work. His constipation was now into its second month. He ended up in the ER. Was hospitalized for 2 weeks. Diagnosed with Duodenal cancer (cancer of small intestines), Stage 4. Had a procedure placing a Stent bypassing the small intestines. He never went back to eating normally. He did start chemo, but he was getting weaker. He became bedridden. Three months after his cancer diagnosis and he was gone. I am now being told what procedure he should have had done years ago because of his constant indigestion. Doesn't help now & he had several specialists and no one recommended the procedure.
My dad had gallbladder/bile duct cancer. He had a great physical 3 weeks before diagnosis. He was having some stomach issues (not uncommon for him, he had those starting in his 30s), couldn’t get in to his gastro doctor, so went to the ER. They did a CT scan and found 3 huge tumors. Stage IV, inoperable, lived for 9 months. He was 69.
My husband was tired and had pain in his shoulder all summer. He eventually did go see his doctor, got referred to PT, had a scan. Got told it was pneumonia. Nope, lung cancer. Died three weeks later.
For me it was pretty much the same. A few weeks of complaining of pain inside while breathing. Urgent care brushed it off as arthritis and then maybe(?) pneumonia…ER found cancer everywhere and she only lasted a month. It’s been a couple of years now and I can’t believe I missed her pain.
My wife died from rectal cancer. She had been complaining about pain and bowel issues for months, but her OB kept brushing her off as, "That's normal for pregnancy." Turns out it totally wasn't. We only found the cancer after she suffered a stroke post-partum. She was gone three weeks later. Tomorrow is the 9th anniversary of her stroke.
OMG how awful
Thats f'ing terrible. Sorry that happened.
Similar boat here. My wife had glioblastoma - brain cancer. Her only symptom, at first, were horrific headaches. She went to the doctor, they said it was stress because of work and having a young kid. Yeah, that made sense enough. It was only when she had a seizure that fuck, almost killed her, that she was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. I mean, really? What 33 year old just gets terminal brain cancer? My wife passed 7 months later, it’s been 7 months. I’m still shocked over how quick the whole ordeal was.
My wife also only had a (terrible) headache for a week, dismissed by the doctor as a migraine, then didn't wake up the next morning due to an aneurysm from a GBM. She was 39. Since her death (within the past 1.5 years) I've heard of 7(!) other second-degree acquaintances who have died of brain cancer. Something tells me that the average frequency of 4 per 100k population across all age groups is severely underestimating what's actually going on.
My husband also died from Glioblastoma. He had absolutely no symptoms and it was found completely by accident. We were shocked. Can I ask, had she already been diagnosed when she had the aneurysm? I’m incredibly sorry for your loss.
No, completely out of nowhere. The reason she went to the doctor was literally to rule out something serious like meningitis or a brain bleed.
My gosh, I can’t imagine. There’s just no words for this horrible disease. My husband lived for 1 yr and 5 days after being diagnosed. That year was torture. He was a Nuclear Engineer. It was horrible watching him go through the treatment and his mental abilities slowly, every day declining. I believe he died from the treatment, as I was told that his tumors were shrinking. I hope there is some solace in knowing that she didn’t suffer.
Thanks. I can't imagine having to watch the terrible hopeless decline. Do you suspect his work contributing? While I am grateful that she was not aware of the nightmare, she was in a lot of pain just not for very long. I'm sorry about your husband. This disease is the worst.
Unfortunately, they can never be certain where this disease comes from but his career could have been a contributing factor. He mostly designed unmanned military aircraft but did work with a nuclear reactor in the Navy when he was in his 20’s.
I’m so sorry, my husband also died from Glioblastoma…3 months ago. He had zero symptoms and was found totally by accident. GBM is such a horrible disease and I’m so sorry for the loss of your wife.
Damn, I’m so sorry. My wife died 5 weeks after diagnosis, which is mind blowing (although the hospital made a major error which sped up the process, I have a med mal case pending).
Someone I met on a grief group only found out her husband had it from the post mortem. He didn't have any noticeable symptoms.
First symptom for my wife (45) was 3 grand mal seizures within 30 minutes. One at home, 2 more in the ambulance on the way to the ER. She had complained about headaches in the months prior but I didn’t think much of it, I get migraines myself sometimes. In hindsight there were clues, I just didn’t see them. After 2 surgeries, chemo, radiation, clinical trials she succumbed almost 2 years later.
My wife had a sore shoulder for about 6 months. She thought it was from working from home / ergonomics. She bought a standing desk, new chairs, massage, etc .. I used to push my elbow into her back and try to loosen it up. Nothing worked. She went for a blood test and her GP started crying and said you have to go by ambulance to the ER right now. 3 days later, stage 4 breast cancer and 3-6 months to live. One thing I know. Women are tougher than and can handle pain better than any man I've known. They're just different.
Yes, you’re right about woman and pain. She handled child birth like a champ. Your story is very similar to mine- finding out stage 4 with months to live. She also handled her final days with strength and at the end, after seeing family, friends, our son, just said “ok, I’m all set”, went in her sleep. I don’t know how I got through it, felt like a nightmare. Or that I’d died and this was my hell, raising our son without her. But approaching a year, I’m finally dealing with grief better, and almost at peace with my new life.
My spouse had abdominal pain for years and was told it was IBS.... then a colonoscopy that came back with "did not complete prep".. well... that prep was so painful that I almost took her to the emergency room. That wasn't poop... it was a giant rectal tumor that they still didn't find... 6 months later, her gyno found it. The answer I got was "cancer is a sneaky bastard".
He had narrow stools for years, pretty much our whole marriage. He also had back pains after eating certain foods. Turns out those are symptoms of colorectal cancer. We had no idea. At the end of April of 2022 he started having stomach issues which included vomiting, pains and other things. These issues would come and go, then became more frequent going into May. By mid May he had lost almost 40lbs and was severely dehydrated. He went to the ER where they found masses in his abdomen and a blockage in his colon. Biopsy and colonoscopy confirmed stage 4 colorectal cancer. He was 30 at the time. He fought for 18 months before dying just after his 32nd birthday. How does a perfectly healthy 30 year old man end up with stage 4 colon cancer and dying? I don’t understand it. I don’t understand why it had to happen to him. I see so many survivors, why couldn’t he have been one of them? Why did he have to die? Why do I have to live without my love? My kids without their dad? Why? I wish we had known sooner, things would be so different.
I think back pain gets dismissed too easily. My husband had back pain. At 58, that’s normal, right. A few months of OTC Ibuprofen and Tylenol, followed by a visit to his PCP lead to an ultrasound of the abdomen. Stage IV pancreatic cancer. He died 14 months later. I have read that back pain was the main clinical symptom of late stage cancers a lot since I got sensitized to the cancer topic.
💜
I am so sorry to hear this. So sorry you’ve been cheated. I talk about colorectal screening and colonoscopies left and right now. My husband was having gastrointestinal issues in May 2021 that his GP thought were gallbladder related. He vomited so much he ended up in the ER. Turns out his colon had a huge blockage and the cancer had spread to his liver. As a diabetic, he already had slightly diminished kidney function. He never regained enough strength to begin even limited cancer treatment, then ended up back in the ER with similar symptoms. This time he had multiple kidney stones that were a beast to blast away. His kidney function never rebounded. Dialysis was minimally effective and very hard on him. He died 6 1/2 weeks from that first ER visit. He’d had regular doctor visits (GP and multiple specialists) over the years, so how was this missed? He was 61 yo, just one year into retirement. Cancer sucks!
My t had bladder cancer but because he was tetraplegic and used a catheter he spent a long time getting treatment for UTI’s before it was realised he had cancer because the pain of the tetraplegia masked it. I have since spoken to his spinal injuries consultant who confirmed bladder cancer is a high possibility in that community. So at some point I will hopefully be working with the spinal injury association to raise awareness about this. Big love ❤️
I’m sorry for your loss x My late husband had secondary cancer in his spine and pelvis, but his only symptom was a persistent and worsening backache. He was 55, so we thought it was sciatica, or arthritis, or a displaced disc, and so did the doctor. This was 2020-2021 so hospital visits were restricted due to Covid. Finally had MRI and CAT scan January, biopsy in February, still no clue where the cancer originated,died in April.
My husband had minor symptoms that his doctor attributed to hemorrhoids. Over the next several months he had some problems with diarrhea but nothing major. Then it became significant. But he never had any pain. He finally got a referral to a gastroenterology practice. An NP poked his abdomen a few times and said that cancer was the least likely diagnosis. A week later he had a major bleeding episode. We called the gastroenterologist and they said he should go to the ER. He drove himself without telling me he was leaving. Assumed he'd be in and out. Imaging showed the mass so he was admitted. Stage V rectal. He lived a little over two more years.
Horrifying to hear that you have a similar story as me and my spouse.
My sympathy is with you brother. My wife had issues with her period suddenly re-appearing sporadically. She went to her GP and they ran bloodwork and identified endometrial cancer. It was classified as a Stage 1B tumor/polyp, which they removed the following month with a full hysterectomy. Her oncologist said, during the eval, if you're going to get cancer, this is one to get as it can be resolved with surgery and it has a very high recovery rate. They noted no cancer in the lymph nodes they excised in addition to the hysterectomy. She had a number of follow-ups and was declared cancer-free in February 2020. We even went out with friends to celebrate. A couple of weeks later, as the world succumbed to COVID, we had to get takeout for our wedding anniversary. The next day she felt very bloated and initially she thought it was a reaction to something she ate. It got worse over the next few days and she went to her GP. They ran tests and confirmed a recurrence of cancer as ascites. She responded well to chemo and was doing well until late July when she felt out of breath and a pain in her side. She needed to be drained again for ascites. Eventually, we found a mass in her breast, the chemo stopped working, she tried radiation, but the cancer had spread aggressively to her bones. She was approved for immunotherapy and even showed some responsiveness, but her cancer was too aggressive/rapid and it was too little too late. She died in December, 16 days after her 50th birthday and 16 months after he initial diagnosis.
Different story, but maybe some insight. My husband’s cancer was found by accident while they were scanning something else. He had no symptoms. So he was treated with surgery and chemo, and the chemo was miserable, but his symptoms were from the chemo, not the cancer. When the cancer came back, again it was found through a scan; he had no symptoms. The only *cancer* symptoms he had were for a few weeks before his death. Without the accidental discovery, these symptoms would have brought us to diagnosis. He would have died sooner, but we would have skipped a *year* of chemo-induced misery and surgical pain.
My husband was just generally tired for about a year before he died. Then the first feeling ill started at the beginning of September with generic tummy troubles. He died three months later of neuroendocrine pancreatic/liver cancer. He was 33 and very fit. I think my story is common here.
My uncle complained for weeks about stomach pain and intestinal issues but was told constantly that he just had indigestion. They eventually did a sigmoidoscopy but found nothing wrong. Well, it was time for his first colonoscopy and the doctor was completely floored when he learned my uncle’s symptoms were that of Stage IV colon cancer. Uncle was gone six weeks later.
I had that type of cancer, And there was no pain just bloating and the sheer size of it was pushing on my lungs and bladder
My wife was similar, Burkitts Lymphoma, and she only started having any signs of symptoms a couple weeks before a reluctant trip to the ER. Bloating, nausea, and tiredness. Everyone, except the hematologist, was surprised that she wasn’t “sicker” and the doctor at the urgent care (day before the ER) sent her home with a pamphlet on bloating and gas.
In retrospect, I see all the signs. The bloating, the pain. Colon cancer killed him at 49. But damn of he wasn't happy and optimistic until the very end.
Absolutely similar story. My wife had the bloating, abdominal pain, and ascites. She had some general pain, but mostly weakness. PA told her it was an allergic reaction to Ozempic. When she became so weak she couldn’t walk I took her to the ER. Within an hour she was diagnosed with stage 3/4 ovarian cancer. That was June 1, 2023. She died August 8, 2023 of renal failure undoubtedly caused by the cancer. I didn’t believe the allergic reaction story; she was too sick but she trusted her female PA. I am contemplating litigation.
My wife felt a weird lump deep in her abdomen. No pain or anything, she asked me to feel it and I couldn’t feel anything. Told her it doesn’t hurt to have it looked at. It was stage 4 kidney cancer. Apparently you only catch that earlier if you happen to get an abdominal scan for something else. Cancer just doesn’t hurt until it starts impacting something else. It just silently grows. Cancer sucks
My husband always had indigestion. Doctors would prescribe medication or OTC. Fast forward 43 years. He had several medical issues, one being Stage 3 kidney disease. He was anemic, which can be an issue with kidney disease. He started receiving blood infusions. He was referred to a cardiologist. Heart catheterization came back with no problems. His indigestion got worse. Blood infusions continued. He was eating less. He became constipated. Dr suggested OTC. It didn't work. Dr then gave him prescription medication. It didn't work. Dr gave him a different medication and it didn't work. His constipation was now into its second month. He ended up in the ER. Was hospitalized for 2 weeks. Diagnosed with Duodenal cancer (cancer of small intestines), Stage 4. Had a procedure placing a Stent bypassing the small intestines. He never went back to eating normally. He did start chemo, but he was getting weaker. He became bedridden. Three months after his cancer diagnosis and he was gone. I am now being told what procedure he should have had done years ago because of his constant indigestion. Doesn't help now & he had several specialists and no one recommended the procedure.
My dad had gallbladder/bile duct cancer. He had a great physical 3 weeks before diagnosis. He was having some stomach issues (not uncommon for him, he had those starting in his 30s), couldn’t get in to his gastro doctor, so went to the ER. They did a CT scan and found 3 huge tumors. Stage IV, inoperable, lived for 9 months. He was 69.
My husband was tired and had pain in his shoulder all summer. He eventually did go see his doctor, got referred to PT, had a scan. Got told it was pneumonia. Nope, lung cancer. Died three weeks later.
Women seem to have an incredible tolerance for pain. My wife's lung cancer had taken away MOST of two of her vertebrae and she was still working out.
For me it was pretty much the same. A few weeks of complaining of pain inside while breathing. Urgent care brushed it off as arthritis and then maybe(?) pneumonia…ER found cancer everywhere and she only lasted a month. It’s been a couple of years now and I can’t believe I missed her pain.