A 39-year-old woman says she had a complete hysterectomy to save her life after doctors mistakenly diagnosed breast cancer for gluten intolerance and suggested she ‘eat yoghurt’
- Dafina Malovska, 39, saw a GP four times in four months as a result of growth in 2014
- The symptoms were dismissed as gluten intolerance and she was told to eat yogurt
- A private gynecologist finally spotted a half-kilo lump on her uterus
- She underwent a total hysterectomy to save her life after her diagnosis
A woman has discovered how she was forced to have a complete hysterectomy after doctors mocked breast cancer for gluten intolerance.
Dafina Malovska, 39, who lives in Surrey, visited her GP four times in four months after she became aware of a bloom in 2014.
Without examining her abdomen, Dafina was sent to a gastroenterologist to have her stomach examined, found no problems and asked her to ‘eat probiotic yogurt’.
But before doctors diagnosed stage two cancer, she had already spread to her uterus and had to undergo a total hysterectomy to save her life.
Surrey-resident Dafina Malovska, 39 (pictured), had to undergo a total hysterectomy when doctors mocked breast cancer for gluten intolerance
She is now campaigning for annual female health checks to catch symptoms early so that other women do not suffer the same condition she did.
She told the Mirror: ‘I was so scared I was going to die that I didn’t have time to think about the children I would never have. It was later, as I was getting better, that it hit me. ‘
After noticing bleeding between her periods, Dafina kept in to see a private gynecologist while in Macedonia for her sister’s birthday.
She had a transvaginal ultrasound, where the gynecologist found a half-kilo lump on her uterus, which she removed four days later.
She is now campaigning for annual female health checks to catch symptoms early so that other women do not suffer the same condition as she did.
But after discovering that stage two cancer had spread to her ovaries, Dafina had to have a complete hysterectomy.
Dafina discussed with her surgeon the option of freezing her eggs, but her rare form of Leiomyosarcoma cancer meant that the cancer cells may need estrogen to grow and this was not an option.
‘I shouted a lot’, she said, ‘I was also afraid that no one would ever want to be with me’.
But Dafina has met girlfriend Ashton ever since and after six months together the two are engaged.
A complete hysterectomy that removes ovaries means that women experience menopause immediately after surgery, regardless of their age.
Dafina opened up about her struggles with early menopause, fighting hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings and lower bone density.
In a blog for the Lady Garden Foundation, she wrote: ‘From that day I can’t have my own children and after the surgery I was immediately put into surgical menopause.
‘It’s been 4 years since then and every day I have to deal with the effects of early menopause, such as: hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, vaginal dryness and osteopenia (lower bone density).
‘I’m only 39!’
But Dafina is grateful to be alive, and urged women and girls in the UK to have regular checkups to prevent late detection.
She wrote: ‘But I’m glad I’m still alive and can share my story with you.
‘What happened to me I wouldn’t want to happen to anyone else and especially since this can be prevented only if I am found earlier.
‘Sadly, we hear more often that women and girls in the UK are being diagnosed too late with some form of genetic cancer.’
Dafina has now launched an online petition, backed by MPs, calling for annual genetic studies.