I was told it was ‘anxiety’ ... it was cancer

Mum's agonising wait after symptoms mistaken in four-year misdiagnosis

- BETH PATTERSON

An Ayrshire mum said she thought she was going insane after medics mistook her cancer symptoms for anxiety.

Gail Whiteford was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in August 2023 after suffering from a number of debilitating health issues.

The 39-year-old battled for four years to get the diagnosis with symptoms like back ache, excessive urinating, blood in her urine, earache, cough and mucus being treated with antidepressants in 2021.

After continuous GP appointments the Kilmarnock mum of two was eventually diagnosed with the form of blood cancer that affects a type of white blood cell found in the bone marrow.

Doctors initially put her range of symptoms down to mental health issues and while the physical symptoms continued, Gail had been made to feel as though they were psychological.

Gail, an insurance broker with Roxburgh Insurance Brokers in Troon, said: "I suffered with so much pain, that it became my new normal. When the GP put me on antidepressants, I truly thought I was going insane."

Additionally, Gail began to experience horrendous flare ups of an eczema-like rash on top of unbearable night sweats.

In July 2023, Gail called the doctor as she was suffering from persistent vomiting and intense anxiety.