• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Daily Vitamina

Daily Vitamina

Bilingual Health News

  • Health Conditions
  • Healthy Living
  • Food
  • Weight Loss
  • Fitness
Home / Health Conditions / Lung Cancer / Woman With Long-Term Chronic Cough Diagnoses Herself With Cancer

Woman With Long-Term Chronic Cough Diagnoses Herself With Cancer

Daphne Faitala-Rodriguez grew up on the small island of Aunu’u and since she was just 10 years old, she remembers her mother, Meleke, always coughing. Having a cough that doesn’t go away could be a symptom of something as serious as cancer, but since it’s associated with the common cold or allergies, it’s often misdiagnosed.woman coughing

It wasn’t until she became an adult that she grew concerned that this might not be just a simple cough and decided to bring her mother to the U.S. hoping that an American doctor could help her mother. When Daphne turned 18 she joined the Marine Corps and decided it was time to get her mother a second opinion.

Meleke came to the U.S. in 2007 and saw a specialist who unfortunately gave her the same diagnosis as back home, that she had allergies, so he sent her home with allergy medication.  From 2007 to 2014 she continued to visit her doctor because her allergy medicine wasn’t working–because clearly, it wasn’t allergies. Every time she visited her doctor he gave her a different diagnosis: allergies, sinus infection, bronchitis…

“It wasn’t until 2014 that she said to the doctor, ‘I think I have cancer,'” explains Daphne Faitala-Rodriguez. The doctor told her mother that he didn’t think she had cancer and that any scans and tests would be completely unnecessary because, in his professional opinion, he didn’t think she had such a serious illness. Each scan was $10,000, so it was very expensive.

How did Meleke come up with the conclusion that she had cancer? “It was the same thing over and over and she wasn’t getting any better, and she knew that cancer didn’t have a cure and her brother had stomach cancer a year before. He complained about his stomach hurting and he was misdiagnosed for a long time,” explains Daphne. After insisting for about six months, her doctor finally sent her in for a scan and Meleke’s non-professional self-diagnosis was correct, she had stage 4 lung cancer.

“When they sent the scan results they saw that cancer had originated in her lungs, but the scan revealed that it had metastasized to her entire body, except her brain,” she explains. “It was shocking to us not only that her doctor thought it was unnecessary to get the scan done, but when the scan was done it revealed that cancer had spread everywhere and nobody had caught it.” The cancer had spread all over her body and the gigantic mass in her lungs was the size of a softball.Daphne and Meleke

Continue Reading

The Latest In Lung Cancer

Dirty Air Kills 30,000 Americans Each Year

Despite improved air quality since the 1990s, pollution still causes lung disease, heart attacks and strokes that kill more than 30,000 Americans each year, a new study estimates. Researchers looked at concentrations of fine pollution particles known as PM2.5 across [Read More...] about Dirty Air Kills 30,000 Americans Each Year
doing yoga, yoga for cancer patients

El Yoga Podría Ser Beneficioso Para Los Pacientes Con Cáncer

En los pacientes con un cáncer de pulmón avanzado, el yoga parece ayudar a mejorar la función física, el vigor y la salud mental en general. Y también parece estimular a sus cuidadores. Los hallazgos provienen de un pequeño estudio [Read More...] about El Yoga Podría Ser Beneficioso Para Los Pacientes Con Cáncer
woman coughing

Mujer Con Tos Crónica Se Diagnostica A Sí Misma Con Cáncer

Daphne Faitala-Rodriguez creció en la pequeña isla de Aunu'u y desde que tenía apenas 10 años, recuerda a su madre Meleke tosiendo siempre. Tener tos que no desaparece podría ser un síntoma de algo tan grave como el cáncer, pero [Read More...] about Mujer Con Tos Crónica Se Diagnostica A Sí Misma Con Cáncer
nancy vandespool

Desolador-Diagnosticada Con Cáncer De Pulmón En Tres Ocasiones

Tener una tos que no desaparece es algo que la mayoría hemos experimentado en algún momento u otro. Nancy Vandespool se vio afectada con una tos horrible, sin embargo, a ella le duró aproximadamente 3 años. No fue hasta que [Read More...] about Desolador-Diagnosticada Con Cáncer De Pulmón En Tres Ocasiones
woman smoking

Puerto Ricans Continue To Top The List Among Hispanic Smokers

Researchers have known for some time that Hispanic and Latino adults in the United States are overall less likely to smoke cigarettes than their white and black peers. But federal data show that one Hispanic group is more likely to [Read More...] about Puerto Ricans Continue To Top The List Among Hispanic Smokers
smoking warnings

Would You Still Smoke If The Package Came With Graphic Health Warnings?

The tobacco industry has gone through a lot of changes over the last couple of decades. About 30 years ago, the effects of tobacco were not as thoroughly researched as they are today. Tobacco giants got away with creative ad campaigns [Read More...] about Would You Still Smoke If The Package Came With Graphic Health Warnings?

Primary Sidebar

Popular Posts

  • LIFE-1Why do Men Live Shorter Lives Than Women?
  • Silhouette of man and woman kissing during sunset10 Tips to Stay Healthy And in Love
  • BLIND-2Un mundo sin luz. ¿La ceguera se cura?
  • MARATON-28 consejos para ganar su primera maratón
  • ACU-2How Acupuncture Helps Lose Weight

Copyright © 2025, BlackDoctor, Inc. All rights reserved.