At 31 years old, Jackie Garcia had surgery to remove a nearly 20-pound tumor, which has left lasting effects on her body and quality of life. Below, she shares her five-year journey to a cancer diagnosis she believes was delayed by medical bias and second-guessing—and a message for other plus-size women of color. Here is her story as told to Emilia Benton.

In 2017, when I was 26 years old, I started experiencing unusual symptoms, including cold and flu-like symptoms just about every month, as well as frequent, severe headaches and nausea. I would power through the work day and then take ibuprofen or Tylenol in the afternoons and evenings before passing out from exhaustion on the couch. Even with a supposedly “good night’s sleep,” I felt so fatigued and never woke up feeling refreshed. I would go on to feel this way for the next five years, during which time I struggled to get answers after visiting multiple doctors and other practitioners.

During that time, I also started to rapidly gain weight. I gained about 100 pounds within a year and a half, which was alarming, especially since my appetite had also waned and I could never seem to finish a full meal. This weight gain was an even bigger mystery to me because until then I had always been very active, working out at least six days a week, doing things like running, weight training, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts. I also lived with my sister, who is a registered dietitian, and she would often cook healthy meals for us. So I just chalked up my symptoms to work-related stress.

But as my symptoms worsened, my abdomen also hardened and expanded in size. I felt pressure in my pelvic floor, and my periods became painful and irregular, with intense cramping, nausea, and cold sweats. I was also getting rashes on my face and began having numbness in my legs when I would stand up. I figured this was all a result of the weight gain and thought maybe it was now my new “normal.” But I now understand none of these symptoms were normal at all, because I eventually learned I had a nearly 20-pound tumor that was pressing on my pelvic floor and spine, basically crushing my muscles and cutting off circulation to my organs.

Addressing underlying biases

For five years, I tried fruitlessly to get answers. I had always been good about going for my annual physical and well-woman exams and going to see my primary care doctor when I needed to. I brought up my symptoms to my PCP, and despite knowing how active I’d always been, she simply told me I needed to lose weight, walk more, and eat healthier snacks. I asked her to touch my hardened stomach, and she told me there was nothing there.