Woman’s constant cough was ‘dismissed as allergies’ by SIX doctors…it turned out to be stage four CANCER

A BRAVE beauty, whose constant cough was dismissed by SIX different doctors, discovered she had stage four cancer.

Shockingly, for three years Jessica DeCristofaro, 28, was told by doctors her persistent coughing was just allergies.

She even took medication for these supposed allergies for TWO YEARS.

Worse still, after suffering abdominal pains, Jessica visited an ENT doctor in 2015, who put the mysterious pain down to a pulled muscle and told her to rest up.

In January this year, her discomfort was so acute that she went to A&E and was finally given blood tests and scans.

These revealed the devastating news - Jessica had Stage 4 Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

The pharmaceutical rep, from Miami, Florida, started chemo immediately and celebrated remission after two cycles in March.

However, by April 22, the cancer had returned and spread to her chest.

Jessica underwent 20 sessions of radiotherapy and six rounds of chemo, which are still ongoing. Her last chemotherapy session ends in August.

With good reason, Jessica felt let down by the misdiagnosis and lack of information provided to her about cancer.

Due to this and to help other cancer patients, Jessica launched a blog titled Lymphoma Barbie and is now publishing a cancer guide book, Talk Cancer to Me.

She said: "For three years I had this constant cough, it was so frustrating but the doctors just blew it off.

"I think they thought I was young and healthy but I had a feeling something was wrong, I felt so sick for so long.

"I wasn't shocked when they told me it was cancer. I had known something was wrong."

When Jessica's allergy medicine failed to make improvements, she was diagnosed with acid re-flux and was told to change her diet which helped for a while, until the cough returned.

Her symptoms became even more concerning and as her abdominal pain worsened, she also developed a lump on her armpit.

Alarmingly, she claims she was told the lump was a cyst and carried on with her life until January this year, when she emitted herself to emergency care because of unbearable abdominal pain.

She added: "I was supposed to travel for work so I thought I would go to the emergency room and get some pain relievers, but I ended up staying overnight and having all these tests.

"Then I was transferred to specialist hospital for more tests.

"My mum is a nurse and saw the biopsy of my lymph node, so she knew that I had Lymphoma. I was diagnosed around February 3.”

Her doctor was both shocked and ashamed that he had failed to recognise the tell-tale signs.

She said: "If you think something is wrong with your body, something probably is.

"If I could do it all over again, I would have gone to the emergency room sooner, at a different hospital, so that the doctors could have run the proper tests.

"Always be your own advocate, it's the only way."

Jessica felt very much in the dark about what procedures were going to follow.

She said: "It was so difficult, as nobody really told me what was going to happen.

"I was so sick I didn't know what to do. My hair was falling out in clumps, it made me sick to my stomach.

"Emotionally I couldn't do it.

"I had to find all these books to tell me what was going to happen.";

Jessica made friends with her nurses, who gave her tips and tricks to make the process easier, such as how to deal with the nausea.

Now, she is relaying this information in her book and blog to help fellow cancer patients.

She said: "I had to take leave of absence from work because the chemo means I can't be around people in case they make me ill as my white blood count is low.

"That's been tough for me, because I was so career driven and at the top of my career.

"I created the blog and Instagram to get through the process."

Jessica continues to put make-up and a wig on every day and refuses to let cancer get the best of her. As a result, nurses at the cancer centre call her a Barbie doll.

Fittingly, she decided to name her blog Lymphoma Barbie.

She said: "I've met so many people going through the same thing and have so many people writing to me every day. It saved me."

As she nears the end of her treatment Jessica is optimistic about the future.

She added: "I have a feeling it's all gone. You learn to know about your body.

"I'm not the same person I was six months ago. I care about different things and my attitude has completely changed. I embrace life more.”

When her ordeal is over, she hopes to continue writing and to help educate people.

"I feel like everything happens for a reason,” she explained.