An oncologist has warned about the danger of serious weight loss being misdiagnosed as anorexia, citing the case of a young teen who had a late-stage tumor.
According to Weng De-fu (翁德甫) from the oncology center at the China Medical University Children’s Hospital, a 13-year-old girl, surnamed Huang (黃), about two years ago began complaining of headaches, nausea and an upset stomach that led to vomiting.
Huang was unable to eat and lost a significant amount of weight, leading some people to believe that she was anorexic, Weng said, adding that she later developed blurred vision and a crooked neck, and would sometimes walk askew or unexpectedly fall.
She also complained of waking from loss of breath.
A CAT scan in March last year revealed a brain tumor that was constricting Huang’s brain stem and cerebellum. Doctors performed emergency surgery to remove the tumor and Huang later underwent chemotherapy.
Before the CAT scan, Huang had been sent to various specialists, resulting in misdiagnoses and mistreatments for conditions such as hereditary migraines and diarrhea.
Doctors misdiagnosed her as having anorexia, but her weight continued to drop and eventually she weighed just over 20kg.
When Huang’s health rapidly deteriorated last year, almost leading to a fatal collision with a car caused by dizziness and blurred vision, her parents took her to an emergency room where the 5cm tumor was discovered.
“Had she been diagnosed just one or two weeks later, she would have developed breathing complications and would have been at risk of sudden death,” said Weng, who treated Huang.
She returned to normal health six months after having surgery and chemotherapy and has now regained her appetite.
“I have regained my body weight and my hair has grown long again,” said Huang, who is now in the eighth grade. “I am not afraid of getting sick, I will work hard to get better. Last year I spent summer in hospital, so this year I want to go camping, or travel abroad.”
Weng said that cancer affects one in 1,000 children, with brain cancer accounting for one-fourth of those cases.
“It is the second-most prevalent type of cancer among children,” he said. “In the early stages only common symptoms appear, such as nausea, vomiting and decreased appetite. Therefore, a misdiagnosis of anorexia is common. However, if symptoms persist for more than a week, a more thorough medical examination is recommended.”
Weng added that the type of tumor Huang developed is called a gamete tumor.
“These are left in the area of the brain during the child’s development and flare up when the child gets older,” he said.
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