A 23-year-old woman has seen her life change drastically after being asked one question during a health checkup.
Megan Skalka has recounted her experience kicked off with what she brushed off as simple pain in her leg.
At first manageable, the pain got so intense that it would wake her up in the middle of the night. Megan put it down to walking too much, but things got more serious when she spotted a lump on the left side of her hip.
She knew straight away it’d be best to get it checked, with a trip to A&E proving crucial in saving her leg, and possibly her life.
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At the hospital, Megan had an X-ray taken and was sent home in the early hours of the morning.
At 7am, she received a call from the hospital and was asked if she had cancer in her family. That’s when she realised something ‘wasn’t right’, as she told Sun Health.
“That’s when I knew that something wasn’t right, especially because they got back to me so quickly,” she said.
Megan had an MRI scan, a CT scan, another X-ray, and several blood tests before she was told she had a benign tumour. However, her ordeal was far from over, as doctors later realised that the tumour was undergoing a ‘malignant transformation’.
A biopsy was conducted to ascertain the status of the tumour and a surgery was scheduled, with an expert making a custom tool to remove the tumour. By the time the operation took place, however, the mass had grown so much that it could no longer be used.
Megan had surgery on January 28, with surgeons removing half of her hip.
“On the day of my operation, I found out that they just kind of went in and removed everything as they probably suspected the cancer was already there,” Megan recalled.
“The tumour was just growing so quickly at that point.”
The recovery was long and painful, with Megan being in hospital for three weeks after her operation.
“I had an epidural in my back for the first week, so I couldn't feel anything from the waist down and couldn’t even move my toe, which was pretty scary,” she said, adding that ‘even sitting up in bed was really difficult’.
With her mum Jo by her side, Megan finally received a diagnosis. She had stage 1 chondrosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer.
She said she went into ‘survivor mode’ upon being given the news, trying to keep positive.
Amid fears of having her leg amputated and a 30% risk of the cancer coming back, Megan has gained a new outlook on life.
“Going through this has totally given me a new perspective on life,” she said.
“I worry less about the small things.
“I now realise I didn’t really have any problems until I had health problems.
“It was really scary looking at survival rates and the percentage chances of the cancer coming back.”
After being given the all clear, she went on holiday in Barcelona and Morocco and started a new marketing job. She’s also working to raise awareness around bone cancer, holding a fundraiser for the Bone Cancer Research Trust and urging people to get checked if something doesn’t feel quite right.
“It's just so important not to let doctors and your GP turn you away because you're young, because when something's not right, it's not right.
“You never think it’s going to happen to you, but just because you're young, that doesn't mean you're immune.
“I am worried about it coming back. But I’m just super grateful to even have that fear.
“Because so many cancer patients don’t have the positive outcome that I had.
“I’m still in physio and I have a huge scar on my hip, but I've just kind of accepted that.
“It's nothing to be embarrassed about and I was happy to wear my bikini in Barcelona and not give it another thought.
“It shows me who I am, what I’ve been through, and how strong I am. I’m still here, and that’s something to appreciate.
“I appreciate everything these days.”
Stefania Sarrubba