A MAN has shared how he was left in shock after being diagnosed with a rare cancer after suffering his stomach pains from food poisoning.
After weeks of suffering, Paylen Brodbeck, of Sydney, Australia, visited the doctor and was prescribed codeine.
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But the tablets didn’t help and Paylen went to the hospital, where doctors feared he had appendicitis.
They decided to operate — and during the surgery they noticed that Paylen, then 25, had some spots on his liver.
A biopsy was sent for testing, and days later Paylen was stunned to discover she had small blue round cell tumors — a rare type of sarcoma.
He told 7News: “I didn’t really ask too many questions then.
“I remember when they said small cell, and I was like, ‘Oh, it’s small, so that’s good’ and they said, ‘No, small means it’s really aggressive’.
“I was numb from the whole thing.”
Paylen underwent several rounds of chemotherapy and four rounds of immunotherapy after his diagnosis in November 2020.
At first, the cancer responded well to treatment, but in 2021 a PET scan showed it was back.
He then moved on to a more intense form of treatment, which involved chemo with a drug called “the red devil” that caused total hair loss and persistent nausea.
Paylen underwent another PET scan in March, which revealed that there were two spots left on his liver when he signed up for another month of radiation therapy.
He now has the excruciating wait to find out if he is cancer free or not when his next PET scan result comes in.
Paylen – who was forced to quit his job as a carpenter to focus on treatment – added: “It’s either going to be very good or very bad.
“The last month and a half has probably been the hardest.”
Paylen, now 27, says he tries to look at things positively despite his diagnosis.
He said, “I’m not trying to say no to anything now.
“You start looking at the world differently.
“You think you’re pretty lucky to even end up here, so you might as well enjoy it.”
Paylen says the cancer has taken a toll on his mental health and his relationship with his girlfriend.
He said: “She has always been there to help me. It has been reinforced that she is absolutely the one.
“(But) if you can’t really see what’s going to happen in the future… what do you do? It is difficult.
“You feel like it’s unfair to marry someone when you’re going to die.”
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