According to British tabloid The Daily Mail, a woman in the UK saved her own life without even knowing it when she completely coughed up a cancerous tumor, because this is apparently something that can actually happen.
The woman, 37-year-old Claire Osborn, told the Mail that she felt a tickle in the back of her throat that sent her into a fit of coughs. Moments later, she'd hacked up a two centimeter long lump of tissue. "I knew something was very wrong," Osborn stated, "so I went straight to my GP who sent the tissue sample away for tests."
She went to her doctor with the tumor, who quickly performed a biopsy on it to find that it was in fact cancerous. Osborn was given 50/50 odds of living, with a diagnosis of an aggressive type of mouth and throat cancer, metastatic adenocarcinoma. Further testing, however, proved the 50/50 odds null - in fact, it showed no trace of cancer left at all, proving that Osborn had actually coughed it completely up.
"The consultant turned round to me," Osborn said of her final diagnosis, "and said 'It appears you have coughed up your cancer. Congratulations."
So, remember guys - the next time you have a coughing fit, your body could be trying to cough up a cancerous tumor! Just something to think about.
[via Daily Mail]
