Woman, 28, reveals strange symptoms dismissed as a UTI that were actually a deadly cancer

A 28-year-old fitness fanatic has told how her cancer symptoms were dismissed for almost a year before she was diagnosed with an ultra-rare form of the disease. 

Gianna Cericola from Philadelphia said the first symptoms she noticed included a burning sensation when she went to the bathroom and stomach pain.

Out of concern, the otherwise fit and healthy graphic designer visited her local ER but doctors said there was nothing wrong after conducting an ultrasound and it could have been a UTI. 

Gianna said ‘weirdly’ her symptoms disappeared, but around six months later she started passing out randomly. 

Despite visiting ER several times, Gianna’s condition was dismissed as fatigue but on the last visit, an ultrasound showed an 8cm mass in her stomach area.

At first, doctors told Gianna that it looked like a cyst on her ovary and there was ‘nothing to worry about’.

But then they discovered that the tumor had started bleeding and that was why she was passing out, due to internal blood loss.

Following emergency surgery, Gianna was told that she had cancer but the doctors were still unsure what kind it was. 

Recalling the chain of events, Gianna said: ‘I waited a really long time, I would say like a month, for my diagnosis. 

‘Like, they weren’t really sure [and the cancer] came unclassified.’

Gianna said waiting to hear what kind of cancer she had was ‘super scary’ but finally she found out that she had desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT).

The rare and aggressive cancer has only affected about 200 people worldwide since researchers first identified it in 1989. 

It usually affects people aged between 20 and 30 and is much more common in men.

Symptoms include abdominal pain, constipation, a swollen belly and unexplained weight loss. 

The Cleveland Clinic says most survival rate data show between 15 percent and 38 percent of people with DSRCT were alive five years after diagnosis. 

Gianna is currently enrolled in a seven-month chemotherapy treatment plan at Fox Chase Cancer Center and she says radiation therapy and another surgery might be necessary down the line. 

Discussing her cancer treatment, she said: ‘What that looks like is I’ll be going to hospital for two days and then it’s ten days out.

‘The next cycle is in the hospital for five days, and then I have two weeks at home.

‘So that’s what my chemo schedule looks like right now up until I think about like mid August.’

Along with losing her hair and experiencing bone pain, Gianna says she has also been suffering from a constant runny nose as a result of the chemotherapy. 

Before starting her treatment, she underwent IVF to preserve her fertility in the hope of having children one day.  

In a bid to help others battling the same type of rare cancer, she has been sharing insights from her cancer journey via social media. 

In one post she can be seen shaving her head with her boyfriend, brother and dad doing the same in support, while others show her maintaining her fitness routine despite her illness.

She says some of the things that have helped keep her positive include being outside and taking walks, seeing a therapist, and being around family.  

Looking ahead, she concludes: ‘My mindset at first was like, I was just so scared.

‘[I thought], is this the end? I don’t know how much longer I have. 

‘But I feel like recently, like just focusing my mind on other things as much as I can, like, just helps so much.

‘And, I’ve less scared and just feeling really good about, just having hope and to keep fighting.

‘Putting my focus on other things just gives me so much more hope.

‘It’s really important for me to share my story, just so other people that are going through this can see it and [have] hope.

‘I feel like I want to, give as much people hope going through this as I can.’