{"id":148035,"date":"2025-09-19T20:23:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T20:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/148035\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T20:23:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T20:23:09","slug":"doctors-said-for-10-years-i-had-anxiety-then-a-scan-showed-the-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/148035\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Doctors said for 10 years I had anxiety, then a scan showed the truth’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tameika had been pushing for a diagnosis for a decade, and finally got the frightening answerNeil Shaw<\/a> Assistant Editor (Money and Lifestyle)<\/p>\n

08:23, 19 Sep 2025Updated 11:22, 19 Sep 2025<\/p>\n

\"TameikaTameika McBride had been told for years that nothing was wrong (Jam Press)<\/p>\n

A mum pushed for 10 years to get answers to the worrying symptoms she was experiencing as doctors dismissed them as \u201canxiety\u201d. Tameika McBride had been suffering from symptoms dating back to 2015, but says doctors would reassure her that nothing was wrong, with her blood work coming back all-clear.<\/p>\n

The mum-of-two knew something was wrong, but it wasn\u2019t until she noticed a large swelling in her neck, a few weeks after she had her son, that she demanded answers. A day after being told it was likely nothing to worry about, an ultrasound confirmed her worst fears: she had cancer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was devastated and thought it was a death sentence,\u201d said the 30-year-old stay-at-home mum. \u201cWith two young children, aged four and two, I went into panic mode. It was traumatising \u2013 I was having a meltdown and couldn\u2019t stop crying.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tameika'sTameika’s neck after her biopsy (Jam Press)<\/p>\n

Tameika said: \u201cI would go to my doctor about my symptoms and was told it was anxiety, and that my bloods were fine. But [the symptoms] didn\u2019t cripple me, and I was happy overall, so I kind of accepted that how I was feeling was normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

During her pregnancy<\/a> in 2019, doctors found Tameika had an underactive thyroid, and she was given medication and told it can happen when pregnant. When she came off the meds, she \u201cstacked on weight\u201d and looked \u201cpuffy and swollen\u201d \u2013 but was again assured her blood work had come back normal.<\/p>\n

In August 2023, six weeks after she had her son, Tameika noticed her thyroid was visibly enlarged for the first time. She said: \u201cI had a tender, sore thyroid on the left side that I could literally see in the mirror. I went to the doctor, who sent me to the ER.<\/p>\n

\"Tameika'sTameika’s CT scan confirming the diagnosis of thyroid cancer (Jam Press)<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it could be postpartum thyroiditis, but my bloods were fine. Scans showed \u2018something\u2019, but there was not enough information. They told me to get another scan, but no one followed up. As a tired, breastfeeding mum-of-two, I left it, and the swelling went away.\u201d<\/p>\n

But in November 2024, Tameika found a swollen lymph node on the left side of her neck, causing her to worry again. Her doctor thought it was innocent and told her to return if the issue persisted, so when it was still there two months later, she went back.<\/p>\n

Tameika said: \u201cMy doctor said, \u2018I\u2019m sure it\u2019s nothing, but we\u2019ll check to be sure,’ and I had an ultrasound. The very next day, I was told it was cancer. It was frustrating \u2013 for years, I had questioned my symptoms and was always told it was anxiety. To finally be told it was cancer was overwhelming and heartbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TameikaTameika in hospital (Jam Press)<\/p>\n

The mum had a CT scan and biopsy, which confirmed the diagnosis of thyroid cancer, and she was booked in for a thyroidectomy [a procedure to remove all or part of the thyroid gland] and a left modified radical neck dissection [a procedure to remove cancerous lymph nodes] in April.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cThey removed 34 lymph nodes, and 12 came back as cancerous. Once again, hearing the bad news crushed us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doctors also found Tameika had Hashimoto\u2019s disease \u2013 an autoimmune condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the thyroid gland, preventing it from producing enough hormones. The same test revealed her cancer to be a rare and aggressive variant, and it had spread further than they had anticipated.<\/p>\n

\"TameikaTameika with her partner, Chris (Jam Press)<\/p>\n

Tameika said: \u201cFor my age, they were shocked. It was another kick in the gut, and another panic moment for us as a family. It was like being told I had cancer all over again. I was told I am in the high-risk category, which felt very scary.\u201d<\/p>\n

In June, Tameika underwent radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment to destroy thyroid cells and had to isolate in the hospital away from her family for 24 hours. She said: \u201cMy children are a little too young [to understand what is going on]. My daughter, who is four, knows I\u2019m sick and that I have cancer, but she doesn\u2019t know the extent, and my son, who is two, doesn\u2019t understand at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TameikaTameika McBride had been told for years that nothing was wrong (Jam Press)<\/p>\n

Since her surgery, scans have found two remaining cancerous lymph nodes, and Tameika is continuing RAI treatment to try and kill them. She is currently also undergoing high-dose Vitamin C infusions, recommended by an integrative medicine doctor.<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cThis has been the most challenging time of my life, and I\u2019m so grateful to be here and healing \u2013 but I\u2019m also exhausted, navigating post-cancer fatigue and uncertainty, while trying to stay strong for my children. Words can\u2019t describe how grateful I am for everyone\u2019s kindness and generosity \u2013 it means a lot to be able to go and have these treatments, only because of everyone\u2019s help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her fundraising page can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tameika had been pushing for a diagnosis for a decade, and finally got the frightening answerNeil Shaw Assistant…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148036,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[55106,29810,102,2196,11340,1906,6623,2531,56,54,55,6959],"class_list":{"0":"post-148035","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-breastfeeding","9":"tag-er","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-hospitals","12":"tag-immune-system","13":"tag-mental-health","14":"tag-mentalhealth","15":"tag-pregnancy","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-unitedkingdom","19":"tag-vitamins"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148035","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148035"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148035\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}