Just a bit of background - I'm a non-smoker, run 5 miles several times a week, generally active because of two dogs to exercise. Fit and healthy in all respects. In January 2023 I had a brief flu - nothing really bad - but I found myself really weak in the weeks afterwards. As a very active person this was a significant impact and I left it a few weeks before going to the GP. Despite not hearing anything on my chest I was given a week of antibiotics and sent home. Thankfully I went back at the end of the course of tablets because I saw a doctor who didn't fob me off, but instead sent me for an XRay. In the weeks before the XRay took place I felt I was improving but went for the appointment anyway. A week later I was told there was a shadow on my lung - I was assured it was likely nothing as many adults have scar tissue in their lungs from previous chest infections, so I didn't worry too much and went along to the CT Scan unconcerned.
It was a Friday in late March at 1730hrs when I found 4 missed calls from the GP. At that moment we knew something was very wrong - we didn't need to speak to them to know that. The GP said they would stay open for me while we travelled down, and the doctor called me in to say I had a Chondrosarcoma in the cartiledge of the lower ribs on the right side. I hadn't been through any specialists or had any real symptoms that indicated there was a 5.5 x6.5 tumour, so it came as a real shock. The GP, herself not being a specialist, couldn't really answer our questions but was very understanding and sent us away with various leaflets, but as it was late Friday, nothing would start moving until the Monday morning.
It was the longest weekend of our lives. We googled to find case studies and information about what is a rarer form of cancer, in a rarer place but it didn't really help us and it would be some time before we were able to see a specialist who could give us more information.
