Knee pain when working out at the gym, went to the doctor and found out it was bone cancer

Amy Haigh suddenly felt a dull ache in her knee. She ignored the pain, but when she went to the gym, the pain and swelling became worse. The test results shocked her: the cause of the pain was bone cancer.

Amy Haigh (27 years old) lives in Auckland, New Zealand. In March 2022, her left knee suddenly felt a dull pain. The girl thought it was probably due to an injury after a horse riding, according to the Daily Mail (UK).

Amy Haigh had no idea her knee pain was caused by osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer.

ILLUSTRATION: SHUTTERSTOCK

She did not go to the doctor for a check-up but instead self-recovered. But soon after, her knee became painful and swollen every time she went to the gym. Over the next 6 months, she went to a physical therapist and an orthopedist, but none of the treatments were effective.

Her personal trainer noticed something was wrong and suggested Ms Haigh get a CT scan. In September 2022, she went to the hospital for a check-up and was ordered to have an MRI scan. The results revealed that she had osteosarcoma, the most common type of primary bone cancer.

Being diagnosed with cancer at such a young age and with a healthy lifestyle came as a shock to Ms Haigh. "I've always been very active and healthy, never had any serious illnesses, just the occasional cold. I started going to the gym in 2019 and I'm an avid horse rider," Ms Haigh said.

Cancer scared the girl. She cried a lot, cried in the car, during lunch breaks and in the toilet. Her family was also very confused because bone cancer is considered a dangerous and serious type of cancer. In October 2022, she began treatment with 2 rounds of chemotherapy, each lasting 35 days.

"After the first round of chemotherapy, I had a lot of side effects. The doctor had to reduce the dose of chemotherapy in the next round so that I could still perform some activities in life," Ms. Haigh recalled.

In January 2023, she underwent an eight-hour surgery to remove the cancerous part of her left femur. The removed bone was replaced with a femur from a donor in the United States. Currently, the bone still has 11 screws attached.

In March 2023, doctors officially declared her cancer-free. She has since continued to recover from the psychological trauma of the surgery and the cancer. She will soon need another surgery to remove scar tissue from her knee.

Osteosarcoma usually occurs at the end of long bones, where new tissue forms as the bone grows. Common symptoms of this type of bone cancer include persistent pain, increasing pain, red and swollen joints, the formation of tumors in the joints, and weak and brittle bones. Common treatments include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery, according to the Daily Mail.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dau-nhuc-dau-goi-khi-tap-gym-di-kham-moi-biet-la-ung-thu-xuong-185230815004613946.htm