A woman is urging people to 'listen to their bodies' after her younger sister died from bone cancer despite doctors initially diagnosing her with sciatica.
Kelly Drummond, 33, is sharing her late sibling's story in the hopes of encouraging others to push for answers and advocate for themselves after losing Kate in March 2022.
She explained that the 'fit and healthy' 25-year-old had been desperately trying to find the source of her crippling back pain for months on end.
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Kate had first began complaining that something 'wasn't quite right' in summer 2020, which is when the 'intermittent' discomfort in her lower back first began.
But as she was working from home like millions of other Brits during the Covid pandemic, she initially put this down to poor posture or her 'slightly uncomfortable working set-up'.
Still, the pain persisted - and by January the following year, it had began to radiate to Kate's hip, too.
The athletic young woman presumed this may have been a result of 'over-training' and changes to her workout routine, but she was forced to take her concerns to a GP a few months later.
Her hip had become 'warm to touch' and displayed 'slight swelling', prompting her doctor to prescribe pain killers while ordering a blood test, which revealed Kate's inflammation markers were 'considerably elevated'.
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She was then sent to a A&E at a local unnamed hospital so medics could investigate further in May 2021, seeing Kate undergo more blood tests and an X-ray.
Kelly claims her little sister was told it was likely sciatica which was causing her pain, which the NHS explains often causes symptoms such as sharp burning pains, tingling, numbness and weakness in the legs.
It states: "Sciatica happens when the sciatic nerve, which runs from your lower back to your feet, is irritated or compressed. It usually gets better in a few weeks to a few months but can last longer.
"Your symptoms may come on suddenly but they can also start slowly. The pain may be worse when moving, sneezing or coughing. You may also have back pain, but it's not usually as bad as the pain in your leg."
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The NHS also notes that 'you probably do not have sciatica if you only have back pain'.
Kelly, a personal trainer, claimed that the doctors who offered the diagnosis of 'probable sciatica' noted that Kate was 'one of the youngest patients they had ever seen with this condition, particularly that extreme'.
Her sister's pain was continuing to worsen at this point, and Kate began to 'struggle with everything', while her mobility also began to decline.
Kate eventually decided to seek an MRI scan through private care to get to the bottom of her agony, which is when she was given the 'life-altering' news that she was not suffering from sciatica.
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In July 2021, the Brit was informed that the results showed she had a large tumour - spanning a similar size to that of a grapefruit - in her pelvic region, while there were also numerous deposits on her spine.
Kate underwent a biopsy at Birmingham Hospital, which confirmed that she had a rare cancer known as Ewing sarcoma, which can start in the bones or soft tissue.
The main symptom of this rare bone cancer is pain in the affected area that gets progressively worse, as well swelling and tenderness, the NHS say.
Kelly says that 'in a matter of weeks', the disease had spread to 'almost every part of Kate's body', including her sister's lungs, liver, skull, jaw and other bones.
"The news was life-altering, mainly for Kate, but also for her friends and family," the devastated sister told PA. "I felt shock and disbelief, but also a bit of guilt as well as you think ‘could I have done more to push her to seek help sooner?’
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"It all felt really unreal and it shouldn’t happen to someone so young, especially someone so fit and healthy."
Kate began emergency radiotherapy and began a course of chemotherapy, with Kelly saying she remained 'so strong and so positive the whole time'.
But tragically, Kate's health began to 'rapidly decline' in January 2022 as her liver and kidneys began to shut down, as Kelly explained: "It just all changed from there, it was a rapid downward spiral that kind of came out of nowhere."
Ten months after she was mistakenly informed she was suffering from sciatica, Kate passed away on 17 March, 2022.
"Kate was never meant to die, it was an aggressive cancer but she was never given a terminal diagnosis until the last few weeks," Kelly said. "It just shows how very, very suddenly things can change.
"We’d be silly to not assume that things could have been slightly different had she been diagnosed sooner.
"When Kate’s tumour was found it was large, they described it as grapefruit-sized and it was suggested she may have had cancer in her body for up to two years.
"What started as some lower back pain turned into cancer within a matter of days, which then turned into multiple cancerous tumours in almost every part of her body – the rapid progression was shocking.
"Kate’s story shows just how unpredictable cancer is and clearly, early diagnosis has been shown time and time again to save lives."
In memory of her 'hilarious, kind, considerate' sister who had an 'amazingly infectious laugh', Kelly wants to encourage others to 'listen to your body' and 'advocate for yourself'.
"She would also want to encourage people to make the most of your life that you’re lucky to have," the 33-year-old added. "Don’t wait, and laugh more, I think she would say."
April marks Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Awareness Month for the Bone Cancer Research Trust, the UK’s leading charity for primary bone cancer.
You can visit their website here to find out more.
Olivia Burke