Linda Chavez, now 35, found out she had a type of lung cancer called Metastatic Bronchial Carcinoma. By the time doctors caught it, it was already stage four, meaning it was too late to cure.
She said doctors kept telling her for years that her symptoms were nothing serious. Now, as a wife and mom of two, she’s using TikTok (@theterminalcancershow) to talk about what she went through and spread awareness.
RELATED STORIES
In one video, she listed the five symptoms she had before finding out she had cancer.
A cough that wouldn’t go away
Linda said she had a cough for years and just ignored it.
At first, it was just a small, dry cough, nothing major. She even imitated how it sounded. But over time, it got worse. “Eventually, it was deeper, it felt very painful, and it felt piercing in my chest,” she said.
“Please do not ignore a persistent cough.”
Bone pain that wouldn’t let up
Another big red flag was the constant, throbbing pain in her bones.
She said it felt like stubbing your toe — but in every bone of her body.
Her cancer is stage four because it didn’t just stay in her lungs. It spread everywhere.
Nonstop headaches
Linda also had headaches every morning for over nine months. She kept taking painkillers just to make it through the day.
Headaches aren’t a common symptom of lung cancer, but in her case, the cancer had already spread — to her brain, spine, lymph nodes, and adrenal gland.
Extreme fatigue
She said she felt “exhausted beyond belief.”
At one point, even breathing became painful. “I literally had to take shallow breaths due to pain I was feeling every time I was inhaling or exhaling,” she said.
Constant nausea
The last symptom she talked about was nausea.
“I was definitely very, very nauseous towards getting diagnosed,” she said.
Doctors told her this was because of the brain cancer. “Apparently, a lot of my brain mets (metastasis) are on my right frontal lobe, which controls hunger, cravings, nausea, and all that,” she explained.
Her loved ones keep her going
Since sharing her story, Linda has raised over $40,000 through a GoFundMe set up by her brother-in-law.
In a recent update, he shared that she had developed ‘leptomeningeal dissemination disease,’ meaning the cancer had spread to the fluid around her brain.
Because of this, she was discharged from the hospital on December 3rd for more tests, treatments, and a tough new infusion plan.
The update read, “It’s no doubt the kids, family, friends, and even social media followers breathe life into Lin and her fight. To those who know Lin, she’s a fighter through and through and won’t go down without fighting the good fight.”
