South Carolina Mom With Stage 4 Cancer Says Doctors Dismissed Her Severe Pain as Just a Gallbladder Issue

Casey Ward Mom With Stage 4 Cancer Late Cancer Diagnosis Bile Duct Cancers

By Joel Brussels , Parent Herald Jul 05, 11:10 am

Photo: (Photo : PATRICK HERTZOG/AFP via Getty Images)

Casey Ward was working in Charleston, South Carolina, as a paramedic when she was suddenly struck by a sharp pain in her upper right abdomen. According to the now-33-year-old, she immediately went to the emergency room (ER), where clinicians ran a few tests on her.

They told her that she was likely just constipated but that diagnosis did not match the pain Ward was experiencing or where in her belly it festered. She was in agony for months, with the pain coming back in waves, according to Insider.

Doctors eventually settled on a bad gallbladder as their diagnosis for Ward, but no tests indicating gallbladder issues came back positive, which was perplexing to her. She had become pregnant with her second child by then, so even if it was her gallbladder, a removal surgery had to wait.

Ward shocked after late cancer diagnosis

Ward's pain intensified throughout the pregnancy, saying she barely left her house because it hurt to walk. She added that even a deep breath would spark sharp pain, with Ward begging her doctors to operate at this point. Her pregnancy prevented them from doing so, with doctors telling Ward that they didn't want to hurt the baby. She said that it was a very long nine months for her.

Ward went to the ER again with unbearable pain a couple of months after her daughter was born. She could not wait for the scheduled surgery just two days later as an ultrasound spotted a tumor the size of a grapefruit this time around.

The doctor still assured Ward that the tumor was likely benign, telling her that she was young and healthy. Unfortunately for Ward, that was not the case, as biopsy results showed the tumor as cancerous two weeks later.

The cancer had already spread from her bile duct to her leg and lung, with one doctor giving her anywhere from a day to six months to live. Ward said she was just having such a typical day and was shocked because you never think that will happen to you at 31. A GoFundMe page was set up to help in her treatment.

Pregnancy may have accelerated the spread of Ward's cancer

Ward is continuing treatments more than two years later, and she is sharing her story now to urge people to demand answers when they think something is wrong with their bodies. She said that if they don't advocate for themselves, no one will.

According to the Mayo Clinic, bile duct cancers affect the liver's small tubes to the intestines and gallbladder. They are often diagnosed in late stages, making them difficult to treat. The five-year survival rate for those that have spread to other organs is only 2 percent.

Doctors told Ward that the hormones from her pregnancy may have accelerated her cancer spread. Ward's love for her 1-year-old daughter overshadows any regrets about not getting an earlier diagnosis.