Mother Believed She Was Just Strung Out – Learns She Actually Has Cancer

Oct 23, 2019 by apost team

Parenting regularly breeds exhaustion. Having little time to eat properly, a lack of sleep and worry over keeping the family safe and healthy take their toll on the body. Add a demanding career, and all the ingredients are there for even young moms to feel intense burnout.

Recently, 32-year-old mother and nurse, Jennifer Waller, took to the internet to beg parents to stop for a second to take care of themselves. She was compelled to do this upon receiving a cancer diagnosis, when she thought she was simply suffering “mom burnout.”

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In the viral video posted to Facebook, Waller said that she visited her doctor for abdominal symptoms, mysterious weight loss, and an “off” feeling. For some time, Jennifer ignored the lingering symptoms, believing they were just the result of being busy and working two jobs while parenting two children.

However, after rounds of testing and a colonoscopy, she received a colon cancer diagnosis. In the video, Waller states, “When I woke up and [the doctor] told me I had a large tumor, it was a complete shock, because I can’t have cancer. I mean, I’m a nurse. I take care of people. I tell you if you have cancer. I treat you. I can’t have cancer. Yet, here I am.”

Though she did not disclose details of her prognosis, she did admit that she feels lucky that it was caught early because the cancer is in her lymph nodes and spreading. A determined Jennifer declared in her post, “I’m gonna fight. I’m gonna fight like hell.”

Today, Jennifer is officially in remission, saying ”I survived because the fire within me burned brighter than the fire around me.”

Upon the video going viral, scores of people have offered up their own stories about beating their cancer diagnosis or thanked her for inspiring them to take medical matters more seriously. The working mom recorded the video to encourage others to not ignore symptoms. In her post, she admitted, “I made this video because here in the United States, you don’t screen [for colon cancer] until you are 50 years old. That is 18 years from now. According to my biopsy, I would be dead. If I hadn’t gone in, I would have been dead.”

Annually, over 50,000 Americans succumb to colon cancer, despite the fact that doctors view the illness as largely preventable and treatable when discovered early. Jennifer’s video does more than raise awareness about colon cancer. Most busy adults need to be reminded to pay better attention to their health in general. Parents too often become more consumed with the wellness of their children, at the risk of ignoring their own well-being.

Remember to take time for yourself, and spread the message contained in this valuable video to prompt the busy parents you know to slow down and make their own health a priority.

Our content is created to the best of our knowledge, yet it is of general nature and cannot in any way substitute an individual consultation by your doctor. Your health is important to us!