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I Was Told I Was Too Young to Have Endometrial Cancer โ but I Did
Read More: I Was Told I Was Too Young to Have Endometrial Cancer โ but I DidAs told to Shannon Shelton Miller September is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month. I was at work in February 2019 when my OB-GYN called me and asked if I could step away for a moment. โIโd rather not do this over the phone, but itโs pretty serious,โ she said. โYou have endometrial cancer, stage 1, and…
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Multiple Brain Aneurysms Changed My Life โ And Iโm So Much Better For It
Read More: Multiple Brain Aneurysms Changed My Life โ And Iโm So Much Better For ItAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector September is Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month. It was Aug. 11, 2022. I was working remotely that day. During a Zoom call with my boss and colleagues, while discussing a new project I would lead, I heard and felt a big pop go off in my head. Suddenly the voices…
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Recibir mi diagnรณstico de pรณlipos nasales tomรณ aรฑos y tratarlos tomรณ incluso mรกs tiempo
Read More: Recibir mi diagnรณstico de pรณlipos nasales tomรณ aรฑos y tratarlos tomรณ incluso mรกs tiempoEnglish Septiembre es el Mes Mundial de la Concientizaciรณn de la Salud de los Senos Paranasales Tal como se relatรณ a Erica Rimlinger Hace doce aรฑos, empezรณ mi congestiรณn nasal. Habรญa varias posibles causas: Podรญa tener un resfriado o alergias estacionales. La inundaciรณn del pueblo en que vivรญa debido al huracรกn que ocurriรณ ese aรฑo…
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It Took Years to Get My Nasal Polyps Diagnosed, and Even Longer to Treat Them
Read More: It Took Years to Get My Nasal Polyps Diagnosed, and Even Longer to Treat ThemEspaรฑol September is World Sinus Health Awareness Month. As told to Erica Rimlinger Twelve years ago, the nasal congestion began. There were several possible causes I could think of: I might have had a mild cold or seasonal allergies. The flooding that swept into our hometown from the hurricane that year may have triggered my…
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When My Twin Sister Was Diagnosed with Leptomeningeal Disease, I Dropped Everything to Help Her
Read More: When My Twin Sister Was Diagnosed with Leptomeningeal Disease, I Dropped Everything to Help HerAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber My sister Briana is the yin to my yang. As fraternal twins, youโd think that weโd want some space after sharing a uterus for nine months, but we were basically inseparable from birth. Briana and I went to the same schools, shared the same friends, played the same sports and…
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I Live with Bipolar Disorder, but I Donโt Let It Define Who I Am
Read More: I Live with Bipolar Disorder, but I Donโt Let It Define Who I AmJuly is Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. As told to Shannon Shelton Miller Four years ago, my husband found me lying in a fetal position on our bedroom floor, hysterical and in tears. I was having one of the worst depressive episodes Iโd experienced in years. After struggling for more than…
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No estaba cansada. Tenรญa insuficiencia cardiaca.
Read More: No estaba cansada. Tenรญa insuficiencia cardiaca.English Tal como se relatรณ a Erica Rimlinger “Estoy bien. Lo que pasa es que no comรญ suficiente cuando desayunรฉ”, le dije al personal mรฉdico en la sala de emergencias. Me estaba preparando para salir del hospital. Mis colegas, expliquรฉ, estaban siendo demasiado cautelosos cuando pidieron una ambulancia para mรญ. Les dijeron a los paramรฉdicos…
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I Wasnโt Tired. I Was in Heart Failure.
Read More: I Wasnโt Tired. I Was in Heart Failure.As told to Erica Rimlinger โIโm fine. I just didnโt eat enough breakfast,โ I told the medical staff in the emergency room. I was gearing up to walk out of the hospital. My co-workers, I explained, were being overly cautious by ordering the ambulance for me. They told the EMTs I passed out, fell and…
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Dijeron que solo me quedaban 4 meses de vida, pero han pasado 2 aรฑos y mi historia no concluye todavรญa
Read More: Dijeron que solo me quedaban 4 meses de vida, pero han pasado 2 aรฑos y mi historia no concluye todavรญaEnglish Tal como se relatรณ a Erica Rimlinger A los seis meses de mi primer embarazo, notรฉ una masa en mi mama y lo indiquรฉ en una consulta mรฉdica con mi doctor. “Eso es normal”, dijo mi ginecรณlogo obstetra. “Eso pasa cuando estรกs embarazada”. Tres aรฑos despuรฉs, en 2022, estaba sentada con una bata de…
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They Said Iโd Only Live 4 Months, but Itโs Been 2 Years โ and Iโm Not Done Yet
Read More: They Said Iโd Only Live 4 Months, but Itโs Been 2 Years โ and Iโm Not Done YetAs told to Erica Rimlinger Six months into my first pregnancy, I felt a lump in my breast and brought it up at my doctorโs appointment. โOh, thatโs normal,โ my OB-GYN said. โThat happens when youโre pregnant.โ Three years later, in 2022, I sat in a hospital gown looking at a PET scan of my…
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Halfway Through My โNormalโ Pregnancy, I Was Told Weโd Have to Deliver the Baby or Weโd Both Die
Read More: Halfway Through My โNormalโ Pregnancy, I Was Told Weโd Have to Deliver the Baby or Weโd Both DieAs told to Erica Rimlinger In the summer of 2015, I had big news to share with my friends, family and all my hairstyling clients: I was pregnant. My husband and I were so excited to meet our first child. I was 32 years old and healthy, and the pregnancy was going great. In my…
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Donโt Count Me Out
Read More: Donโt Count Me OutAs told to Erica Rimlinger My kids were 2 and 3 years old when I found a lump in my breast. I made an appointment for a mammogram and went to the appointment alone. Iโll never forget the radiologistโs face as she reviewed the results. When she told me I had to follow up with…
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Being Outed Was Traumatic, But It Pushed Me To Accept โ and Embrace โ My Sexuality
Read More: Being Outed Was Traumatic, But It Pushed Me To Accept โ and Embrace โ My SexualityJune is Pride Month. As told to Nicole Audrey Spector Growing up, I never really thought much about what it meant to be gay, bisexual or trans. I was raised in a Catholic household, and topics of sexuality and gender identity didnโt come up one way or another. I was at some point made aware…
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Pasรฉ aรฑos sin tener idea que mis episodios รฉpicos de migraรฑas estaban relacionados con mi ciclo menstrual
Read More: Pasรฉ aรฑos sin tener idea que mis episodios รฉpicos de migraรฑas estaban relacionados con mi ciclo menstrualEnglish Junio es el Mes Nacional de Concientizaciรณn de Migraรฑas y Dolores de Cabeza. Tal como lo relataron a Nicole Audrey Spector Estaba en la universidad cuando tuve mi primer episodio de migraรฑas. Fue tan grave que me tumbรณ por tres dรญas. El segundo dรญa, me encerrรฉ en un cuarto oscuro, donde vomitรฉ sin parar…
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For Years, I Had No Idea My Epic Migraine Attacks Were Tied to My Menstrual Cycle
Read More: For Years, I Had No Idea My Epic Migraine Attacks Were Tied to My Menstrual CycleEspaรฑol June is National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month. As told to Nicole Audrey Spector I was in college when I had my first migraine attack. It was so severe it knocked me out for three days. On the second day, I shut myself away in a dark room, where I was vomiting nonstop and…
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Iโm Tired of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Being Misunderstood
Read More: Iโm Tired of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Being MisunderstoodAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber I moved to Manhattan in my early 20s for a job in television production. I worked as a producer for shows on ABC News and Showtime, and I loved the fast pace of the job and the city. Between work and friends, I was constantly on the go and there…
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Stress Caused My Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection
Read More: Stress Caused My Spontaneous Coronary Artery DissectionAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber Everything happened so fast. In December 2022, I was walking back from the bathroom to my office when I felt a tug in my chest and an odd sensation โ like Iโd smeared Icy Hot on my heart. My initial reaction was that I might have a cold, or the…
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I Thought I Was Too Young to Get Melanoma
Read More: I Thought I Was Too Young to Get MelanomaAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. How many days a year do you think you were tanning?โ my oncologist asked me. I fidgeted in my seat. Should I tell him the truth? โMaybe 300,โ I said rounding down. He nearly fell out of his chair. I didnโt blame him. I…
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Doctores ignoraron mis dificultades para respirar, pero era esofagitis eosinofรญlica (EEo)
Read More: Doctores ignoraron mis dificultades para respirar, pero era esofagitis eosinofรญlica (EEo)English Tal como se relatรณ a Marnie Goodfriend El 22 de mayo de 2025 es el primer Dรญa Mundial de la EEo. Hace tres aรฑos, a mi hijo le diagnosticaron un trastorno que causรณ mucho estrรฉs y cambios del estilo de vida de nuestra familia. Un aรฑo y medio despuรฉs, empecรฉ a experimentar una sensaciรณn…
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Doctors Dismissed My Breathing Issues โ But It Was Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE)
Read More: Doctors Dismissed My Breathing Issues โ But It Was Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE)Espaรฑol As told to Marnie Goodfriend May 22, 2025, is the first World EoE Day. Three years ago, my son was diagnosed with a condition that caused a lot of stress and lifestyle changes in our family. A year and a half later, I was experiencing some burning and tightness in my chest every once…
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Aprende mรกs, Chronic conditions, Digestive disorders, Digestive health, Espanol, Gi health, Real women real stories
Cuando le diagnosticaron EEo a mi hijo, el mundo de nuestra familia se puso de cabeza.
Read More: Cuando le diagnosticaron EEo a mi hijo, el mundo de nuestra familia se puso de cabeza.English Tal como lo relataron a Nicole Audrey Spector El 22 de mayo de 2025 es el primer Dรญa Mundial de la EEo. Era un dรญa completamente normal, lo cual para mรญ, una madre de dos hijos que trabaja y que se asegura que todo marcha sin problemas en la casa, significaba que las cosas…
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When My Son Was Diagnosed With EoE, Our Familyโs World Was Turned Upside Down
Read More: When My Son Was Diagnosed With EoE, Our Familyโs World Was Turned Upside DownAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector May 22, 2025, is the first World EoE Day. It was a totally normal day, which for me โ a working mom of two who made sure everything in the house ran smoothly โ meant things were pretty hectic. I was at work and my boys (Jeric, 7, and…
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I Didnโt Know Having a Baby Increases Your Risk for Stroke
Read More: I Didnโt Know Having a Baby Increases Your Risk for StrokeAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber May is Stroke Awareness Month. โWhy is my face numb?โ As I stared at myself in the mirror, everything looked fine to me. But the left side of my face definitely felt numb. Then I remembered that the tip of my tongue felt numb the day before. Alarm bells started…
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I Thought It Was Covid, but It Was COPD
Read More: I Thought It Was Covid, but It Was COPDAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector One day in 2023, I went for a walk. Just a simple walk. No biggie. When I got home, I was coughing. I was terrified that I had Covid. My terror was largely rooted in the fact that I have scleroderma. I was diagnosed in 2001, at the age…
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I Lived with Undiagnosed Lupus for Years โ Because Doctors Refused to Test Me for It
Read More: I Lived with Undiagnosed Lupus for Years โ Because Doctors Refused to Test Me for ItAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector I grew up in a home plagued by chronic illness. My mother had lupus, and I was her caregiver, starting at the age of 10. My grandmother had severe rheumatoid arthritis (I now believe it was tied to lupus that was never diagnosed). I provided care to her, too,…
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I Still Live a Full and Active Life with Lupus
Read More: I Still Live a Full and Active Life with LupusAs told to Marnie Goodfriend Iโve always been a thrill seeker. At age 22, I wanted to experience life to the fullest, and I enjoyed snowboarding, traveling โ and even bungee jumping. I was healthy and had never had anything more than a cold until I started experiencing extreme fatigue, joint pain, and swelling in…
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I Was Told No One Lives with Pancreatic Cancer, but 31 Years Later, Iโm Still Here โ Fighting for a Cure
Read More: I Was Told No One Lives with Pancreatic Cancer, but 31 Years Later, Iโm Still Here โ Fighting for a CureAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber In 1994, I was in the emergency room when the healthcare provider told me pancreatic cancer was only diagnosed in 65-year-old Black men. But there I was โ a 44-year-old white woman with a mass on my pancreas. The whole scene felt like a bad dream. Just an hour earlier…
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My Doctor Told Me to Go Get Pregnant to Treat My Endometriosis
Read More: My Doctor Told Me to Go Get Pregnant to Treat My EndometriosisAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber March is Endometriosis Awareness Month. I remember having issues with my period as a teenager, but it was in my early 30s when I started having pelvic pain and cramps that wouldnโt go away. I made an appointment with my gynecologist and she said I had some small cysts, but…
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Tener una enfermedad infrecuente llamada CBP me enseรฑรณ a decir lo que siento
Read More: Tener una enfermedad infrecuente llamada CBP me enseรฑรณ a decir lo que sientoEnglish Tal como se relatรณ a Erica Rimlinger En mi examinaciรณn fรญsica anual en la primavera de 2002, mis pruebas de sangre no revelaron resultados completamente normales. “Su funciรณn hepรกtica no es grandiosa”, dijo el doctor. “Dรฉmosle un aรฑo, y si todavรญa no hay resultados normales, haremos algo al respecto”. No pensรฉ mucho en eso.…
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I Won Three Olympic Gold Medals All While Keeping My Sjรถgrenโs Disease a Secret from the Sports World
Read More: I Won Three Olympic Gold Medals All While Keeping My Sjรถgrenโs Disease a Secret from the Sports WorldMy second year of professional soccer started out great. I worked hard during training, and I got stronger and faster every day. Then one afternoon โ out of the blue โ a tsunami of fatigue washed over me. It was so bad I couldnโt climb the stairs to my second-floor apartment without stopping to rest.…
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My Ear Infection Turned Out to Be a Rare Disease
Read More: My Ear Infection Turned Out to Be a Rare DiseaseAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber โI’ve never seen anything as invasive as this in my life,โ my surgeon said. I was still groggy from the anesthesia, but the look on his face meant what I heard was true. Apparently, I was in surgery for six hours โ not two โ and whatever was growing in…
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Having a Rare Disease Called PBC Taught Me to Speak Up
Read More: Having a Rare Disease Called PBC Taught Me to Speak UpAs told to Erica Rimlinger At my annual physical in spring 2002, my blood work was not quite right. โYour liver function isnโt great,โ the doctor said. โWeโll give it another year, and if itโs still off, weโll do something about it.โ I didnโt think much about it. I didnโt have symptoms worth noting. I…
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I Thought I Could Handle My Eating Disorder on My Own Because It Didnโt Happen Every Day, but I Was Wrong.
Read More: I Thought I Could Handle My Eating Disorder on My Own Because It Didnโt Happen Every Day, but I Was Wrong.As told to Marnie Goodfriend. February 24 – March 3, 2025, is National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. I remember the first time it happened โ my first bulimic episode. I was in Cape Town for the summer, working for a legal organization after finishing my first year of law school. I didnโt think much of…
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I Missed All the Signs of My Dadโs Liver Disease
Read More: I Missed All the Signs of My Dadโs Liver DiseaseAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber February 21, 2025, is National Caregivers Day. My dad was the fun parent. Growing up, we did pretty much everything together, but Saturday mornings were my favorite. Dad would turn on the radio and blast the bluegrass music he loved while we tossed a softball in the side yard. Dad…
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It Wasnโt Stage Fright. I Was Having a Heart Attack at Age 39.
Read More: It Wasnโt Stage Fright. I Was Having a Heart Attack at Age 39.As told to Jacquelyne Froeber February is American Heart Month. It was Friday night in Waikiki and I was late. I rushed backstage and apologized to the crew. โI went to the M.A.C. counter to get my makeup done and it took longer than planned,โ I said. That wasnโt exactly true. I didnโt plan to…
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I Was Still Healing from a Double Mastectomy When I Was Diagnosed with Cervical Cancer
Read More: I Was Still Healing from a Double Mastectomy When I Was Diagnosed with Cervical CancerAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. I was standing in the checkout line at Walmart when my phone rang. It was my gynecologist. โKaren, your Pap test came back abnormal โ you need to come in for a biopsy,โ she said. I sighed. Here we go again. Eighteen months earlier,…
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Hypothyroidism Caused Serious Problems for My Body and My Mind
Read More: Hypothyroidism Caused Serious Problems for My Body and My MindAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber January is Thyroid Awareness Month. โHave you noticed some asymmetry in your neck?โ my friend asked. As physicians, we didnโt usually spend our off time looking at abnormalities on each other, but she was right. The right side of my neck was slightly more swollen than the left. Luckily, my…
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Doctors Shrugged Off My Cough Because I Wasnโt a Smoker โ but I Had Stage 4 Lung Cancer
Read More: Doctors Shrugged Off My Cough Because I Wasnโt a Smoker โ but I Had Stage 4 Lung CancerAs told to Nicole Audrey Spector I was 43 years old, a teacher turned stay-at-home mom of three and in great physical shape. I had always been super on top of my health. Any routine screenings, like Pap tests and mammograms, I had right on time, and I was always very in tune with my…
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The First Holiday Without My Dad Was Hard, but Family Support Helps
Read More: The First Holiday Without My Dad Was Hard, but Family Support HelpsAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber I hosted Thanksgiving this year, just as Iโd done for the past eight years. I made the giant turkey, mashed potatoes and all the traditional favorites. The dessert table โ my dadโs favorite spot to sneak off to when no one was looking โ was overflowing with decadent pies and…
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I Became a Cancer Survivor at Age 3
Read More: I Became a Cancer Survivor at Age 3As told to Shannon Shelton Miller My status as a cancer survivor has shaped my life. When I was 3, I was playing in the backyard with my older sister, who noticed blood spreading across my clothes. She rushed me into the house and told my parents. They took my clothes off and saw a…
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Grief and Loss Are Different When Youโre the Caregiver
Read More: Grief and Loss Are Different When Youโre the CaregiverAs told to Jacquelyne Froeber November is National Family Caregivers Month. My mom was my biggest fan. After I published my first novel, she came to all my author talks. At the end of each session, Iโd ask if anyone in the crowd had questions, and she was always the first one to raise her…
