Why Was I So Sick Just After Getting Better?

I recovered from breast cancer treatment only to wind up back in the hospital with a mysterious illness.

- GWEN WEINSTOCK

In 2016, after two surgeries and 20 weeks of chemotherapy for Stage II breast cancer, I felt as if the toughest part of my treatment was finally over, and I was making plans to restart my life. I even bought tickets to a Billy Joel concert. But a few weeks later, I had a terrible bout of diarrhea. I assumed it was food poisoning and was careful what I ate for the next few days. But something still felt off.

Weeks passed, and I continued to have diarrhea as well as nausea and acid reflux; I dropped 10 pounds in just a month. One of the drugs I was taking to keep my cancer from returning was new, and I had been told that one side effect could be diarrhea, so I asked the doctor to remove it from my protocol. He encouraged me to stay on it, and I reluctantly agreed. I focused on hydration and healthy eating, but I was having difficulty keeping down any food at all, and I lost even more weight. I had to miss the Billy Joel concert.

A FRIGHTENING FALL

On Super Bowl Sunday, I was at a friend's baby's birthday party. Though I had been feeling fine, as I stood up to greet friends, the room started spinning and I fell to the ground. My friends drove me to the hospital, where I was kept overnight for dehydration and low electrolytes. After that, my cancer doctor took me off the new drug, but even that didn't help me feel better.