A father has spoken out about how doctors missed his cancer diagnosis by tellling him that he was suffering with depression and acid reflux. Ricky Evans, a HGV driver from Caerwent in Monmouthshire, started feeling extremely tired last year.
He was also experiencing chest pains, so went to to see a doctor only to be given medication for acid refux, also known as heartburn. When Ricky, who is 32, went back after no improvement, he was given stronger medication and told that he might be suffering with depression. You can get the latest WalesOnline newsletters e-mailed to you directly for free by signing up here.
Then, in January, this year, lumps began to appear on Ricky’s neck, but he claims he was again not taken seriously and told by doctors that he had swollen glands. “I am usually a very active person but I started feeling really tired all of the time - I would come home from work and feel really fatigued and was having to go for a nap,” father-of-two Ricky told North Wales Live.
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“I started to get pains in the centre of my chest which felt like pressure but I didn’t really think it was anything to worry about. I went to the doctors and they said it could be acid reflux, I didn’t think it felt like that but they gave me omeprazole for it which I took. A few weeks later I was still feeling the chest pain so went back to the doctors and they gave me lansoprazole which is meant to be stronger. It didn’t do anything and I still didn’t feel right but they had told me to just keep taking it and it will eventually help.
“The fatigue was still bad and I could still feel the pressure so I went back to the doctors again and they said could it be stress. I said my life was good, I have a good job, I didn’t have anything to be stressed about and I didn’t feel worried about anything. But they gave me some antidepressants, I only took one because it didn’t feel necessary, I was fine.
"I felt so useless, no one was listening to me. “In January I started to get lumps in my neck and I went back to the doctors again but they said it could be swollen glands from an infection. They took bloods but they all came back fine. About three weeks later the lumps were still there, I had six in total but two very prominent ones beneath my jaw. At that point the doctor said let’s do a biopsy to be on the safe side.”
While waiting for the biopsy results, Ricky says he took a “funny turn” at home and needed to be taken to hospital by paramedics. His biopsy results came back and in March he was given a devastating diagnosis - stage three lymphoma. More tests then revealed he had further lumps in his abdomen, in front and behind his spleen. “I was in hospital for three days, the consultant told me he thought it could by lymphoma,” he said. “They rushed through my biopsy so they could confirm the diagnosis. By this point I had it in my mind I had cancer. My family were so upset and worried, but I was just relieved to get a diagnosis after such a long time. It felt good to get answers and that someone was listening to me after all that time.”
Ricky is now waiting to see what treatment he needs, and has urged people to listen to their own bodies and to make sure they demand tests from their doctors if they feel something is not right. "Don’t get palmed off, listen to your body," he added. "You can feel stupid trying to tell a medical professional something isn’t right but only you know your own body.”
A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: “We’re very sorry that Mr Evans is unhappy with the care that he received and send our best wishes to him during his treatment. We would urge Mr Evans to contact us directly so that we can discuss the treatment received and any concerns regarding our services.”
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