Black cats are believed to bring bad luck, but for one woman, a bite from an angry feline may have saved her life.
Animal lover Emily Falk, 25, of Port Huron, in the United States, didn’t think much of it after being bitten by her neighbor’s black cat, Edgar, in May while she was petting him.
But a week later she discovered a golf ball-sized lump under her armpit.
At first, she ruled out a possible case of cat scratch fever, a bacterial infection that can be triggered by a bite or scratch from a feline.
It was only after a course of antibiotics failed to clear the suspected infection that Ms Falk sought further medical advice.
Emily Falk, a 25-year-old animal lover from Port Huron, didn’t think much of it after being bitten by her neighbor’s black cat, Edgar, while petting him in May.
But a week later she discovered a golf ball-sized lump under her armpit. She initially ruled out a possible case of cat scratch fever, a bacterial infection that can be triggered by a bite or scratch from a feline. Pictured here, black cat Edgar
It was only after a course of antibiotics failed to clear the suspected infection that Falk sought further medical advice. A subsequent ultrasound and biopsy revealed the truth was far more serious. Pictured here, Falk during her first chemotherapy treatment.
A subsequent ultrasound and biopsy revealed that the truth was much more serious.
Mrs. Falk had Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare cancer that begins in white blood cells, and began chemotherapy.
Recalling her ordeal, Ms Falk said: “I think the cat bite saved my life in some ways.
“I don’t think I would have ended up going to the doctor so soon, so that definitely helped figure out what was wrong with me.”
Ms Falk said she had no idea the “assault” on Edgar would lead to such a discovery.
‘I love animals and actually saw an outdoor cat in my driveway, which was my next-door neighbor’s cat.
‘I was petting him and he bit my left hand and made me bleed a little.
‘I was a little nervous and mentioned it to my doctor. He ended up putting me on antibiotics because he thought it might be cat scratch fever.
‘With cat scratch fever you can get lumps under your armpit, so when I found the lump under my armpit about a week later, I thought that was why.
‘But the lump didn’t go away after antibiotics, so we started looking for other causes that could have caused it.
“I wasn’t that worried. I thought it was some kind of infection.”
It was only after further tests that doctors discovered the cancer was stage four, meaning it had spread to another part of the body.
They found it present in his lymph nodes and bone marrow.
Hodgkin lymphoma occurs when infection-fighting white blood cells called B cells multiply abnormally and build up in certain parts of the lymphatic system.
This can cause a painless swelling in a lymph node, usually in the neck, armpit, or groin.
Other symptoms include persistent cough, fever, night sweats, and weight loss.
Recalling her ordeal, Falk said: “I think the cat bite saved my life in some ways. I don’t think I would have ended up going to the doctor so soon, so that definitely helped me figure out what was wrong with me.”
Hodgkin lymphoma occurs when infection-fighting white blood cells called B cells multiply abnormally and build up in certain parts of the lymphatic system. Pictured here, Ms Falk shaves her head during her first chemotherapy treatment.
In the UK, around 2,600 cases are diagnosed each year, meaning it accounts for less than 1 per cent of cancers. In the US, 8,800 cases are detected each year.
According to Cancer Research UK, almost 85 percent of people with cancer will survive five years or more after diagnosis.
Ms Falk said: “I was so scared, I didn’t know what was going to happen or how long it was going to take. I was thinking, ‘Am I going to die?’
‘My mother’s gasp was very loud when the doctor said “stage four.”
“But the good thing about this type of cancer is that stage four depends on the region in which it is found. Therefore, it is not as harmful as stage four pancreatic cancer, for example.
“I still have a good prognosis, it’s very curable, it’s not terminal. I have an incredible support system around me.”
She has already completed her first round of chemotherapy and is expected to receive a second treatment in late November.
Ms Falk added: “I feel strangely grateful to the cat. The next time I saw him I said ‘thanks, mate’.”
‘I just thought it was a lump caused by cat scratch fever.
“I would say to anyone else who finds a lump to always go to your doctor if you have any suspicions. Be proactive and take care of yourself.”