All articles tagged with #misdiagnosis
Lipedema is a chronic, hormone-influenced condition causing disproportionate fat buildup in the legs (and sometimes arms) that does not respond to diet or exercise and is often misdiagnosed as obesity; the piece outlines symptoms, the female predominance, and UK treatments such as a CORE diagnostic pathway, Vaser fat harvesting, and RF skin tightening to relieve pain and improve mobility.
A healthy 21-year-old from England, James Mann, was repeatedly told his dizziness and imbalance were due to vertigo or an inner-ear issue. After his mother pushed for an urgent MRI, doctors found a brain mass in November 2025. He underwent multiple surgeries, but the tumor grew back and he died in January 2026. His family is fundraising for the Brain Tumour Charity to support research and new treatments.
A Jersey woman says her brain lesion was dismissed as harmless and she was misdiagnosed with epilepsy, only to be later diagnosed in England as a low-grade brain tumour. The case has prompted calls for better staffing, communication and UK liaison in Jersey's neurology service, and Health and Care Jersey has published an action plan after an independent review.
A 38-year-old mother in Wales spent six years with headaches before an MRI in 2025 revealed a brain tumor likely present for 15–20 years. She was diagnosed with a low‑grade meningioma, underwent a 12‑hour surgery removing about 85% of the tumor (with the remainder wrapped around her optic nerve), faced post‑operative infection and emergency skull‑related procedures, and now awaits a titanium skull plate and possible radiotherapy while unable to work.
A 13-month-old in England was misdiagnosed with HPV and psoriasis after a rash; his mother pressed for further testing, leading to a diagnosis of Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), a rare cancer-like disorder. He has undergone multiple rounds of chemotherapy and ongoing treatment, with a GoFundMe set up to cover costs and the hospital apologizing for the initial concerns.
A 60-year-old man from Newcastle, Ian Swindell, was repeatedly diagnosed with acid reflux for months before a bone marrow biopsy revealed incurable multiple myeloma. He underwent emergency radiotherapy and chemotherapy, now relies on a walking stick and wheelchair, and is planning his own funeral to ease the burden on his kids, while urging others to seek second opinions when something feels wrong and to listen to their bodies.
A 27-year-old British civil engineer, Luke Taylor, endured a decade of debilitating headaches dismissed as migraines until a demanded MRI revealed a haemangioblastoma brain tumor. The tumor grew to golf-ball size, necessitating a nine-hour emergency operation, followed by another surgery for a brain bleed. After 18 days in hospital, doctors removed the entire tumor, with follow-up scans every six months for 10 years. Taylor and his partner are raising funds for the Brain Tumour Charity, planning the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge to support others.
A 33-year-old woman recounts 20 years of severe pain and dismissal from doctors who urged her to stay on birth control; after multiple ER visits and a decisive gynecologist, she was diagnosed with endometriosis and underwent surgery removing 23 lesions, yielding dramatic pain relief. She now advocates for better medical education on endometriosis and improved insurance coverage for treatments.
A widower posts a viral thread accusing Cigna Healthcare of denying coverage for a tumor-marker lab test for his wife, who later died of Stage IV cancer after months of misdiagnoses; an MRI finally revealed the cancer and she received radiation before dying four months later. The denial letter labeled the test “not medically necessary,” prompting online responses from Cigna and others and highlighting broader concerns about in-network claim denials.
A TikTok creator, 23-year-old Tori Mosser, shared her struggle with cyclic vomiting syndrome. A random commenter suggested her worsening CVS could be chronic appendicitis; when doctors finally ran a CT scan, she underwent emergency appendectomy and recovered, with Mosser noting the commenter Ella may have saved her life. The viral post underscores how online health communities can help patients obtain crucial insights when clinicians miss them.
A health writer recounts how her husband’s decades-long dizziness and unilateral hearing loss were repeatedly dismissed as stress until a CT scan revealed a four-centimeter acoustic neuroma, a typically slow-growing benign brain tumor. Surgery to remove it left him with left facial and throat paralysis, underscoring how earlier imaging and specialist input could have reduced harm and why persistent symptoms deserve thorough evaluation.
Rev. Jesse Jackson’s death after a PSP diagnosis highlights how progressive supranuclear palsy is often mistaken for Parkinson’s, due to overlapping symptoms and lack of PSP-specific tests or therapies. New genetic research links PERK mutations to PSP and identifies DLX1 as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target, suggesting future screening methods and drugs that could reduce DLX1 levels to improve diagnosis and outcomes.
A Daily Mail health feature discusses sensitization (nervous system dysregulation), a broad, non-diagnostic concept used to describe anxiety disorders when chronic stress and trauma keep the body in a perpetual fight-or-flight state. The article follows Amelia’s experience of anxiety symptoms that didn’t respond to standard therapy and medical tests, and explains how a recovery coach frames sensitization as a result of micro-stress and maladaptive thinking patterns. While it highlights potential relief through cognitive and lifestyle approaches, there are no formal diagnostic criteria or known prevalence for sensitization, and the condition remains outside traditional medical labels.
A new UK-backed paper argues there is no robust evidence ADHD is overdiagnosed; instead, many people remain undiagnosed or untreated due to long NHS waiting times and barriers to care. While misdiagnosis can occur, especially where assessments rely on self-reporting, thorough multidisciplinary evaluation is essential. International prevalence is about 5% in children and 3% in adults, but NHS figures lag behind, highlighting unmet needs. The authors call for more funding, better workforce training, and a balanced, evidence-based public conversation to expand access to accurate diagnosis and treatment.
A 23-year-old medical student from Liverpool endured years of stroke-like episodes doctors dismissed as stress or health anxiety; after an emergency brain surgery in 2025, he was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an incurable brain cancer. Despite the delayed diagnosis, he underwent tumor removal and chemo/radiation; cancer later spread, and he is now traveling to Germany for cutting-edge immunotherapy while urging earlier scans for others with similar symptoms.