WHEN Tracey Morris started experiencing coughing and chest pain last Christmas she decided to soldier on, despite friends telling her to see her GP.
But the 64-year-old soon learned she’d shrugged off symptoms of a “sneaky” disease – which has now left her living with just one lung.
Tracey Morris started experiencing coughing and chest pain last Christmas, which initially she shrugged offCredit: MEN Media
When Tracey got so ill she had to go to hospital she found out it wasn’t a cold, but stage two .
She’s now urging others to get checked out by their doctor right away if they’re displaying any unusual symptoms.
Tracey, from Bridlington, East , said: “If you’ve been coughing for three weeks or more, please don’t assume it’s a cold, flu or Covid. Go see your . It can make a difference, and it could save your life.”
When Tracey thought she had caught a bad cold last , it led to her taking three days off work.
She said: “I never have days off.
“A lot of people were going to the doctors then and asking for and they [the GPs] were saying to them, go home and take paracetamol, but I wasn’t going to go and bother them.
“It seemed to ease off over Christmas but then came back with a vengeance.”
Tracey took herself to the “walk-in” urgent treatment centre at Bridlington after a night when she suffered “excruciating pain” in her chest.
She ended up being treated for pneumonia and was found to have a collapsed lung.
A bronchoscopy procedure then revealed a 4.4cm tumour.
Tracey said at first she was in denial when she was told she had lung cancer, convincing herself “it must be something else”.
She recalled: “I was convinced my lung doctor had got it wrong, someone who sees this kind of thing every day and me who knows nothing about it at all.”
Tracey made the decision to have a pneumonectomy (full lung removal) after her surgeon said he was “aiming for a cure”.
Lung cancer is often referred to as a ‘stealth disease’ or ‘silent killer’ because it typically presents no signs or symptoms in its early stages.
Tracey continued: “It’s a sneaky, sneaky disease, let me tell you. I had no symptoms beforehand apart from a bit of indigestion.
“I wasn’t coughing up blood; I wasn’t breathless. In fact, on the day I went into hospital, I ran up two flights of stairs at home, and back down again, to get something I was taking with me.
“You can understand why people miss it. Why so many people are diagnosed late on.
“It doesn’t have to produce symptoms. The thing is, you know your body best; people should take note of those little, little changes.”
Tracey recently finished chemotherapy treatment and is soon to see her oncologist to discuss immunotherapy.
Lung cancer symptoms
Lung cancer is one of the most common and serious types of cancer. More than 43,000 people are diagnosed with the condition every year in the UK.
There are usually no signs or symptoms in the early stages of lung cancer, but many people with the condition eventually develop symptoms.
The main symptoms of lung cancer include:
- a cough that does not go away after three weeks
- a long-standing cough that gets worse
- chest infections that keep coming back
- coughing up blood
- an ache or pain when breathing or coughing
- persistent breathlessness
- persistent tiredness or lack of energy
- loss of appetite or unexplained weight loss
Less common symptoms of lung cancer include:
- changes in the appearance of your fingers, such as becoming more curved or their ends becoming larger (this is known as finger clubbing)
- difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) or pain when swallowing
- wheezing
- a hoarse voice
- swelling of your face or neck
- persistent chest or shoulder pain
See a GP if you have any of the main symptoms of lung cancer or any of the less common symptoms.
Source: NHS
She said: “I have my good days and bad days.
“I do get out of breath and it’s easy to overdo things.”
Tracey is now helping Humber and North Yorkshire Cancer Alliance’s public awareness campaign by speaking about her own experiences to encourage other people to act.
She said “I am so lucky, I am here to tell my story, and I am so grateful for that.
“Part of what I want to get across is that so many people associate lung cancer with .
“I would say, don’t smoke; if you can stop, stop; if you’ve never smoked, don’t start.
“But if you have a pair of lungs, you can get lung cancer.”
