Livingston woman waited years for rare cancer diagnosis after GP dismissed her pain as stress-related
Leyla Cort was a teenager when she first started experiencing worrying symptoms in the side of her face
A Livingston woman has revealed that she waited years for a rare cancer diagnosis after a doctor dismissed her pain as stress-related.
Leyla Cort, 23, first started experiencing symptoms as a teenager in September 2021 when she began having pain in the side of her face.
Despite using painkillers, the pain only grew worse and even stopped Leyla from sleeping at night.
However, when she contacted her GP and received a phone appointment due to Covid lockdown protocols at the time, it was suggested that Leyla’s pain may have stemmed from either stress or a jaw disorder.
It wasn’t until Leyla received an in-person appointment that a consultant noticed the now-pea shaped lump on her face.
She was then referred to a maxillofacial specialist where she underwent an ultrasound and biopsy but received no definitive diagnosis.
Leyla had been due to undergo surgery to remove the lump in October 2022 but this was delayed after her heart rate was deemed too high to go ahead with the procedure. The operation took place five months later in March 2023.
Leyla remained in the dark about her diagnosis until July 2023, when she was told that she had spindle cell sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that occurs in only 0.06 per cent of cancer cases.
She said: “Until then I had been told that I was too young to have cancer.
“After my diagnosis, I didn’t know what the future would hold. I was due to start a new job in the NHS, but I had to put back the start date for my treatment.”
Leyla underwent further surgery to remove the cancerous cells, including the removal of tissue and bone.
She was given the all-clear in September 2023 but still lives with the physical and emotional scars from her experience that has dampened her confidence.
Leyla, who eventually did start her job as a clinical support worker in the NHS, said: “I hate my face so much now, it is my biggest struggle.
“I have to put my hair up at work, but otherwise I keep my hair down.”
While she praised her “amazing consultant” Mr Sidiqqui who she has worked with over the last three years and a sarcoma specialist nurse who offered her support, Leyla added: “Had my cancer been caught earlier, maybe I would not have had to put up with such pain for two years or go through such intensive surgery.
“GPs were so dismissive, they need to show more care to their patients.”
Leyla has gone on to join a teenage cancer youth advisory group which helps to campaign to improve support and treatment for younger people with cancer.
July is Sarcoma Awareness Month and Leyla is just one of the thousands of people diagnosed with a sarcoma across the UK every year.
A sarcoma is categorised as a group of cancers which develop in body tissue, including muscles, bones, cartilage, fat, blood vessels, and nerves. They account for less than two per cent of all cancers diagnosed UK-wide.
Kerry Reeves-Kneip, Sarcoma UK’s director of fundraising and communications, said: "Leyla's story will resonate with so many people in the sarcoma community, and we are so glad she has chosen to share it as part of Sarcoma Awareness Month.
“Two years of pain, two years of being told not to worry, and all along a cancer was growing that would ultimately require surgery to remove bone and tissue from her face.
“She was dismissed, in part, because of her age. Sarcoma does not discriminate, and young people with persistent, unexplained symptoms deserve to be taken seriously.
She added: “What makes Leyla's story particularly powerful is her honesty about the emotional impact, not just the diagnosis, but what she sees when she looks in the mirror every day.
“That takes real courage to speak about, and we are grateful she is sharing her experience so that others know they are not alone."
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