What began as a routine flight to Chicago became the start of a frightening medical ordeal for a young California mother, after an ear that would not pop after landing led to months of symptoms, specialist visits and, ultimately, a cancer diagnosis.
Aida Burkins, 22, from Hemet, was traveling to Illinois last year when she first noticed something was wrong: her ears stayed blocked and would not clear the way they normally do after a flight.
When she returned home, her health began to worsen quickly, leaving her searching for answers as new and alarming symptoms appeared.
“I started bleeding into my throat, which would only come out of my nose if I was bent at the hip at about 90 degrees,” Burkins, who has two young children ages 1 and 3, told Newsweek.
“My hearing got worse and worse. Then I started getting more tired and losing weight,” she added.
Burkins sought help from several doctors and went through multiple rounds of testing, but she said she was repeatedly dismissed with broad explanations, including the possibility that she was dealing with lingering effects from altitude sickness.
Eventually, one doctor identified the source of the bleeding: a mass obstructing her eustachian tube. That discovery prompted an urgent referral to an ear, nose and throat specialist.
By that point, Burkins had endured months of worsening hearing problems. “Everything sounded so muffled, and I had a ringing that wouldn’t go away,” she said.
The ENT specialist was quick to notice the mass and suggested it might be cancerous, though they hesitated because of her young age.
The diagnosis also revealed that her adenoids were severely inflamed and needed to be removed.
While Burkins waited for her biopsy results, the left side of her throat started swelling up, forcing her to undergo a second biopsy.
“The doctor told me he had never seen anything quite like what I had going on. He couldn’t be sure it was cancer, but he said it was very suspicious,” she said.
CT scans soon revealed extensive tumor involvement across multiple regions, affecting the cervical lymph nodes near the base of her skull.
In February, her worst nightmare came true and she was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma — a rare type of head and neck cancer that begins in the nasopharynx, the upper part of the throat located behind the nose and above the back of the mouth.
“Hearing I have cancer, all I thought about was not being able to see my babies grow up or do the things they want to do in life. It was horrifying,” she told Newsweek.
In the months after the diagnosis, Burkins underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which has caused the cancerous mass to shrink significantly.
“Everything is shrinking and responding to the treatments my doctors have been giving me, so they’re optimistic that I’ll be cancer-free,” she said.
She hopes that her story can become a reminder for people that “cancer doesn’t discriminate.”
“My babies have definitely been my rock through all of this and have been my biggest purpose and reason for fighting and moving forward with my life,” Burkins said.
As Burkins nears the completion of her cancer treatment, her ultimate wish is simple: To watch her kids grow up, fully cancer-free.
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