Stefani Mis Taylor found the correct diagnosis and cure to her health condition thousands of kilometers away from home, in the southern Turkish province of Antalya.
Many are shocked and overwhelmed when they receive a cancer diagnosis, but what do you feel when you learn that it was a misdiagnosis and you are clear of a malignant tumor? It was pure happiness Taylor felt when she was told that it was just advanced lumbar hernia, not cancer.
"I was on cloud nine when I learned that I have no cancer," the 23-year-old Liberian woman told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Tuesday.
Taylor, who is the daughter of Liberian Vice President Jewel Taylor, suffered from severe leg aches and had difficulty walking. She applied to several hospitals in her home country and Ghana where doctors said she had a tumor in her head and left leg.
Well-known for health tourism, Turkey was the next stop for the young woman seeking treatment. She reached a clinic operating in Antalya that offers healthcare services for foreigners. Elaborate examinations there found that her illness was caused by advanced lumbar hernia, not cancer. Taylor regained her health after surgery followed by rehabilitation and physical therapy.
The young woman, who serves as the chairperson of a foundation that supports almost 1,500 girls, can now walk comfortably without any outside help. Taylor said she first thought her pain was due to fatigue and lack of sleep, but she started to feel complete numbness in her left foot after six months. It was her mother and aunt Wilhelmina Jallah, who is also the health minister of Liberia, who told Taylor that she should seek treatment in Turkey.
"My mom sent me to get tested in Ivory Coast and then Ghana, but they suspected that it was skin cancer because I believe what they found ... had similar symptoms," she said, also mentioning high cost of treatment. They searched for an alternative and were recommended Turkey to seek treatment. "Of course, we have several African students there and have spoken a lot about Turkey."
Taylor was quite satisfied with the cure she received in Turkey. "Turkey is really good in health. When I came here, I was unhappy and had lost hope in living. Now I can sit and walk. I can move my left leg."
Elif Çağla Ural, the owner of a wellness center established in a luxury hotel in Antalya, said that they rerun all the examinations on the patient. "We did not find any cancer cells in the examinations. We were also very surprised because this is the first time something like this happened to us," she said. Taylor was suffering from severe thinning in her left leg and had trouble walking. The lumbar scanning revealed a hernia though, not cancer, Ural explained.