In 2017 we went away to Greece for a week, I’d dieted hard and lost a stone (still overweight!) and had the best holiday ever. Walked a lot, managed the hills I hadn’t previously and came home so happy.
A week later I started a chest infection which was quite normal for me after a flight only this time I coughed up the tiniest bit of blood in some phlegm. I went to the Drs a few days later and he was hesitant to send me for a chest X-ray even though I was 58 and a lifelong smoker. I felt well and was managing the infection as usual with honey and lemon drinks and Vicks vapour rub.
For some strange reason I wouldn’t take his ““oh this is quite normal” and refused to leave until he sent me across the road to X-ray. His eyes rolled to the ceiling. I had a phone call from him the next morning, obviously he couldn’t say it was cancer and I saw the X-ray, my 2″ tumour looked like the wisp of an artists paintbrush!
Stage 2B, lobectomy and chemo in 2018 have enabled me to be one of the 35% at that stage that live 5 years so the first symptom I had that I didn’t think was one was the ability to climb hills, feel more healthy than ever and have a wonderful holiday!