Dancer diagnosed with cancer at age 21 reveals how doctors dismissed her symptoms for MONTHS

A dancer who was diagnosed pinch cancer astatine property 21 has revealed really doctors dismissed her symptoms for months arsenic she desperately searched for answers - and really she yet returned to nan shape aft bravely beating nan disease.

At nan commencement of 2020, Amina Vargas, now 24, felt connected apical of nan world: she was adjacent to finishing her studies astatine her dream schoolhouse and was excited to commencement her profession arsenic a master dancer.

But each of that changed erstwhile she suddenly developed a multitude of crippling symptoms that near her truthful anemic she could hardly climb a group of stairs without emotion for illustration she mightiness walk out.

Despite her drastic decline, Amina struggled to spot a expert for months, and erstwhile she yet did, she says her symptoms were brushed off.

For 10 months her wellness deteriorated, nevertheless she still had nary thought what was incorrect pinch her - until she yet became truthful sick she had to beryllium rushed to nan hospital.

However, things only went from bad to worse erstwhile she sewage to nan hospital, wherever doctors performed nan incorrect biopsy. 

It came backmost inconclusive, meaning she was backmost astatine quadrate one.

Finally, aft astir a twelvemonth of wondering what was incorrect pinch her, Amina was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma - and she felt for illustration her life was over.

But Amina has now beaten nan illness and travel backmost moreover stronger - and she shared her inspiring travel pinch DailyMail.com successful nan hopes of raising consciousness astir self-advocation erstwhile it comes to your body.

While chatting pinch DailyMail.com recently, Amina explained that she was successful her 4th twelvemonth astatine nan acclaimed Alvin Ailey School successful nan autumn of 2020 erstwhile she abruptly 'started getting ace fatigued retired of nowhere.'

She recalled emotion for illustration she was going to 'pass out' conscionable from taking nan stairs to get to nan train location from class.

She besides developed a 'lump' successful her abdomen, truthful she decided to bring up her symptoms to her gynecologist, who told her it was astir apt a cyst and to 'wait and see' if it will 'go distant connected its own.'

But things only sewage worse aft that. She soon started suffering from nighttime sweats, fevers, bloating, and terrible tummy pain, and it became 'painful to eat.'

She besides mislaid a terrible magnitude of weight - 25 pounds successful 5 months.

'It was awful. I'm personification who likes to beryllium successful power of my body. That's virtually what I'm expected to do [as a dancer],' she told DailyMail.com. 

'And past present I americium like, wholly lost. I had nary idea what was happening to me. I conscionable cognize I felt ace weak.

'And it was my last twelvemonth of school, like, this is nan constituent wherever I'm expected to beryllium auditioning, looking for jobs, putting myself retired there.'

Since it was successful nan midst of nan COVID-19 pandemic, Amina said it was 'impossible to get a doctor's appointment,' contempt her worsening symptoms.

And erstwhile she yet sewage to spot a aesculapian professional, they quickly dismissed her.

'They were like, "You're ace healthy, you person nary anterior conditions. You look for illustration you're conscionable a small dehydrated, you look a small anemic. We'll springiness you thing for this,"' she recalled.

But things came to a caput successful June 2021 erstwhile she was rushed to nan emergency room aft a capacity successful beforehand of her full school, erstwhile her fever reached 104 degrees.

'I pushed myself past my limit. Finally, my assemblage conscionable snapped,' she shared. 'They commencement doing each these tests and they realized, "Oh, wait. Something is really wrong."'

But contempt doctors discovering that thing whitethorn beryllium earnestly incorrect pinch Amina, it would still return much than a period for her to get an charismatic diagnosis.

The then-21-year-old said she past endured a 'botched' biopsy wherever doctors utilized nan incorrect type of anesthetic, which meant she 'felt everything' during nan procedure.

'I'm conscionable for illustration connected nan table, flinching and trying to beryllium reliable and clasp backmost tears and not reason pinch nan professional,' she said.

'But it was awful. It was truthful bad. When I near and met my dada outside, I conscionable started crying.'

In nan end, she was told nan biopsy was 'inconclusive' and she'd person to get another.  

'What I wish I would person done otherwise is confirmed my assignment up of clip and asked a full bunch of questions,' she reflected.

'I deliberation a batch of times I'm acrophobic of being annoying, but erstwhile it comes to your assemblage I deliberation you should beryllium annoying. 

'I deliberation you should inquire each mobility and effort to easiness your worry arsenic overmuch arsenic possible, because getting to nan array and bringing it up location was excessively late.'

Amina was diagnosed pinch Stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma, a type of humor cancer, successful precocious July, and she moved backmost location to Washington, D.C., to beryllium pinch her family while she underwent treatment.

While she was 'grateful' to beryllium backmost pinch her loved ones, she recalled emotion discouraged since she assumed it was nan extremity of her creation career.

'It felt for illustration I was losing everything that I had worked for. I had conscionable signed a lease connected an apartment, and I was truthful excited,' she continued.

'I was starting to build a life and build connections and trying to break done successful my career. 

'And then, correct arsenic I was getting to that decorativeness statement it conscionable sewage ripped distant from me. It was really hard.'

But her aesculapian squad kept her positive, and she gushed, 'They were very nurturing, very saccharine and very encouraging.'

She said her expert told her that he was wished to 'get her dancing' again, and requested that erstwhile she does deed nan shape again, she sends him a summons to her show.

'I deliberation having that successful my mind, erstwhile earlier I felt for illustration that was each lost, it really helped maine mentally,' she added.

Amina underwent chemo for six months, and was declared crab free successful February 2022. 

Three weeks aft she vanished treatment, a dancer who she looked up to, named Hope Boykin, reached retired to her connected societal media and invited her to subordinate a creation task she was moving connected arsenic an assistant, and it was a cleanable measurement for her to 'get backmost into movement.'

'I felt for illustration I had a safe abstraction to benignant of fumble astir a small spot ... I felt for illustration a babe cervid stepping for nan first time,' she joked. 'It was nan cleanable stepping stone.'

In October 2022, she danced for nan first clip connected shape again astatine nan Kennedy Center successful New York - and her expert was beforehand row. And since past she hasn't stopped dancing. 

She told DailyMail.com that she hopes being truthful outspoken astir what she went done will animate others to advocator for themselves.

She besides wants to show others who whitethorn beryllium battling a akin information that it doesn't mean their dreams person to beryllium over. 

'I dream that my acquisition tin show that location are truthful galore different paths to success. Everyone's travel is different,' she concluded.

'The possibilities for maine person expanded, and I'm seeing nan world of creation successful a full different measurement and connecting pinch artists who I whitethorn not person moreover connected with.

'This limit aliases this timeline that we've created for ourselves is really a figment of our imagination. 

'[Cancer] may not beryllium wherever where your life ends. It could beryllium wherever it begins. In 2021 I was like, "My life is over. This is it."

'But I survived and I fought done that, and now I'm doing things I would person ne'er moreover imagined before.'