Swedish doc gives nasal spray to cancer sufferer
A Swedish woman who was suffering from leukemia has told how doctors initially prescribed her with nasal spray and sent her home.
Jennifer Björk, a 23-year-old from Visby on the island of Gotland, sought medical help after feeling an intense fatigue, pressure to her head, and an increased heart rate.
In return, the doctors sent her home with a product to unclog blocked noses.
"The doctor prescribed nasal spray - even though my nose wasn't blocked," the 23-year-old told the Aftonbladet newspaper.
"It feels like they didn't take me seriously because I was young."
Just weeks later, the woman sought advice from another doctor, and learnt that she had extremely low blood levels. She was rushed to the hospital where experts diagnosed her with acute myeloid leukemia. The 23-year-old was then taken by helicopter to the Karolinksa Hospital in Stockholm.
The incident occurred in the spring of last year, and while Björk's health has since improved dramatically, she is not completely healed. The chemotherapy has lowered her chances of ever becoming pregnant.
"That's the worst. If I had got the right help from the beginning they could have saved my eggs and frozen them," the woman told the paper.
Björk has now reported the incident to the Inspektionen för vård och omsorg ('Health and Welfare Inspectorate) claiming that doctors "need to know when they've made a mistake".
TT/The Local/og
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Jennifer Björk, a 23-year-old from Visby on the island of Gotland, sought medical help after feeling an intense fatigue, pressure to her head, and an increased heart rate.
In return, the doctors sent her home with a product to unclog blocked noses.
"The doctor prescribed nasal spray - even though my nose wasn't blocked," the 23-year-old told the Aftonbladet newspaper.
"It feels like they didn't take me seriously because I was young."
Just weeks later, the woman sought advice from another doctor, and learnt that she had extremely low blood levels. She was rushed to the hospital where experts diagnosed her with acute myeloid leukemia. The 23-year-old was then taken by helicopter to the Karolinksa Hospital in Stockholm.
The incident occurred in the spring of last year, and while Björk's health has since improved dramatically, she is not completely healed. The chemotherapy has lowered her chances of ever becoming pregnant.
"That's the worst. If I had got the right help from the beginning they could have saved my eggs and frozen them," the woman told the paper.
Björk has now reported the incident to the Inspektionen för vård och omsorg ('Health and Welfare Inspectorate) claiming that doctors "need to know when they've made a mistake".
TT/The Local/og
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