In January 2022, 34-year-old Courtney Liniewski, a crisis counselor and mother of two from Wisconsin, woke up in the middle of the night to a loud bang in her head. The next morning, she noticed that one side of her face had drooped—a possible sign of a stroke.
Initial Emergency Visit and Misdiagnosis
Her colleague rushed her to the emergency room. Despite stroke-like symptoms, her scans and blood work appeared normal. With a prior history of migraines and anxiety, doctors diagnosed her with a complex migraine and panic attack and sent her home.
“It felt like an easy, familiar diagnosis,” Liniewski told Newsweek. “But I didn’t have a headache that day, which I found strange.”
Worsening Symptoms Ignored
Over the following weeks, her condition declined. She began experiencing chest pain, shortness of breath, extreme fatigue, night sweats, and significant weight loss. Severe back pain would come and go, and she lost hearing in her left ear each night due to a swollen lymph node pressing on a vein.
“I remember thinking, ‘I really wish I could just get a chest X-ray,’” she said. “But I was scared to go back, afraid I’d be told again that everything was fine.”
The Turning Point: A Vacation in Mexico
In February 2022, while vacationing in Mexico, Liniewski discovered a 4.1 cm lump on her neck. “It truly saved my life,” she said. “My immune system was clearly reacting to stress or travel, and my body finally showed me something visible.”
That lump led to further testing, which revealed a much larger grapefruit-sized mass in her chest, measuring 11.6 x 8.3 cm.
A Rare and Aggressive Diagnosis
Liniewski was diagnosed with Grade 3B Follicular Lymphoma, a rare and incurable type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The disease is most common in older white men, and her case was considered atypical. Though follicular lymphoma is usually slow-growing, hers was aggressive.
“Without treatment, I would have died within months,” she said.
Intensive Treatment and Remission
She began chemotherapy just 12 days after her diagnosis, receiving six rounds of R-CHOP, an aggressive and neurotoxic treatment. Now in remission, Liniewski is under a “watch and wait” protocol, monitored every three months through lab work and scans.
If her cancer returns, treatments may include stem cell transplant or CAR-T therapy.
A Warning for Others: Trust Your Instincts
Although she believes the migraine was real, she says doctors were too quick to stop looking once anxiety and migraine were mentioned.
“Given my history, it felt like they dismissed me too soon,” she said. “It was during COVID, and I was alone, unsure, and not confident in advocating for myself.”
Sharing Her Story to Help Others
Now, through her TikTok platform (@cancercourtney), Liniewski shares her story with thousands. Her post about her diagnosis has already garnered over 208,000 views.
“If something feels wrong, keep pushing,” she urges. “Get second, third, even fourth opinions. Don’t let fear or stigma silence you—especially as a woman with anxiety. Use your voice. Be loud. You might save your own life.”
