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In March 2012, 33-year-old Samantha Mixon began to experience severe migraines. She was concerned they were symptoms of something more serious, but her doctor simply prescribed her pain medication and told her to take them as instructed.
Over time, Mixon temporarily lost her vision twice – but her doctors only changed their diagnosis to say that she was likely suffering from a sinus infection as well.
Mixon then, on her own accord, tried various sinus infection products and blew her nose “100 times,” but “it wasn’t draining. Nothing was working.”
Five months later, even when all her symptoms were still present, Mixon began to develop back pain. Her doctor prescribed her muscle relaxants, assuming it was a pulled muscle.
But still, nothing helped.
November that same year, as Mixon was reading a book to her seven-year-old daughter, she paused to cough some phlegm from her throat – only to realize it was blood. “I knew that wasn’t good,” she remembered.
Mixon had no intention of returning to the hospital; after so many failed diagnoses, she simply wasn’t inclined to go back.
It was only after an argument with her parents and her sister – who even called Mixon a “drug addict” because she was still taking so many pills for her migraines, sinus infection, and back pain – that Mixon agreed to see a doctor again.
The MRI scan finally revealed the news Mixon had been searching for this entire time: she had a malignant brain tumor that had been caused by her stage IV lung cancer. She had about 12 to 18 months left to live.
Mixon had little hope for her future after receiving her correct diagnosis, until one of her nurses at the hospital gave her some well-timed words of comfort.
Mixon recalled, "She told me, 'Samantha, you’re 33 years old. Don’t give up, you can do this. You have an advantage, most people don’t get lung cancer at 33, but anyone can get it,'" says Samantha. "She gave me hope. She said, 'Don’t listen to the statistics. That’s the average cancer patient. Not you.'"
As it turned out, Mixon “won the lottery of lung cancer” because her mutation of lung cancer (a genetic mutation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)) was actually able to be treated and held at bay with regular medication.
Now, four years after her diagnosis, Mixon’s cancer continues to be “inactive” thanks to her medication and has remarried and found a new family. She still faces some physical struggles because of her illness, but refuses to let it get her down.
She cites her nurse’s wisdom as being incredibly influential in changing her mindset about her cancer and letting her continue to live her life. For other cancer patients, Mixon wants to remind them, "Believe the diagnosis, not the prognosis. Every diagnosis is different."
