An 18-year-old Indian expat was wrongly diagnosed for asthma, when in fact, he had a rare tumour growing in his body for two years, Khaleej Times has learned.
The young student was suffering from breathing problems for over two years and doctors initially diagnosed him with asthma, blaming the dusty environment. However, his symptoms of shortness of breath grew rapidly affecting his life and daily activities. His was unable to sleep without suffocation.
Little did he know that a deadly tumour was growing inside, which doctors said is one of the rarest among all thyroid cancers. The patient, J.Y. could no longer ignore his growing pain and he consulted another hospital.
After several investigations, doctors broke the terrifying news to the patient and his family: He had a rare, cancerous tumor, not asthma.
The diagnosis revealed a thyroid mass present in his body and experts suggested total thyroidectomy with modified radical neck dissection for the medullary thyroid cancer. Upon surgery, it was determined that the mass was extremely rigid and infiltrating important vessels and the trachea.
On July 5, after more than two years of suffering and daily suffocation, doctors at Burjeel Hospital, Abu Dhabi, successfully conducted the complex multidisciplinary surgery of the cancerous tumour, with the help of cardiac and vascular surgeons.
Doctors said the surgery was so complex that it even required the reconstruction of the vessels and postoperative ventilation for two days.
Doctor Iyad Hassan, head of general, endocrine and cancer surgery, told Khaleej Times the tumour can only be dealt with by aggressive surgery, as supportive treatment such as chemo, radiation and radio-iodine are ineffective.
"The life expectation without surgery in such medical conditions is 6-12 months. This is a very rare cancer caused by a genetic disorder."
He said the rate of patients surviving the tumour is only 25 per cent, while 75 per cent are dying. "For this tumour, we only had the option of surgery, there were no alternatives - either we do a good surgery, or the patient's life is lost."
In 2016, a total of 954 thyroid cancer cases were conducted in Abu Dhabi. "His cancer was rare. In the last three years, the clinic had just three cases of his kind."
The hospital treats around 250 cancer cases per year, and the rare cancer is just one among the 250 cases. "On an international level, five per cent of all thyroid cancers are medullary thyroid cancer."
He said it is vital for patients to go for second opinions when they notice symptoms are not improving. "For the last two years he was treated for asthma, while a deadly tumour was growing in his body. For two years the cancer advanced and it was simply undiagnosed. He was unable to do sports activities or have a normal life like a regular teenager."
Because the rare cancer is usually genetically inherited, doctors are now investigating his family with genetic testing.
10-hour complex surgery
Dr Hassan said the 10-hour long complex surgery required the removal of the large tumour and various lymph nodes. "Everything was growing inside the chest. We had to open the chest like an open heart surgery. The tumour was growing around the large vessels going to the arms and the brain."
He added the rare cancer makes-up five per cent of all thyroid cancers globally, while thyroid cancer makes up four per cent of all cancers.
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