{"id":7737,"date":"2026-08-31T06:35:44","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T06:35:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7737"},"modified":"2026-08-31T06:35:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T06:35:44","slug":"california-woman-22-diagnosed-with-cancer-after-her-ears-didnt-pop-on-flight-to-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7737","title":{"rendered":"California woman, 22, diagnosed with cancer after her ears didn’t pop on flight to Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A flight to Chicago turned a California mother\u2019s life upside down when a simple unpopped ear after landing triggered months of medical tests, unanswered questions \u2013\u2013 and finally a cancer diagnosis.<\/p>\n

Read more Draft bust Evan Neal among Giants\u2019 roster cuts<\/a><\/p>\n

Last year, Aida Burkins, 22, of Hemet, was on her way to Illinois when she realized her ears refused to pop.<\/p>\n

By the time she returned home, her physical condition deteriorated rapidly, leaving her struggling to make sense of what was happening to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started bleeding into my throat, which would only come out of my nose if I was bent at the hip at about 90 degrees,\u201d Burkins, a mother of two tots aged 1 and 3, told Newsweek.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy hearing got worse and worse. Then I started getting more tired and losing weight,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

She followed up with multiple doctors and underwent several tests, but was repeatedly sent away with generic advice that it might just be lingering altitude sickness.<\/p>\n

Then, a doctor finally figured out the cause of the bleeding: A mass was blocking her eustachian tube. She was immediately referred to an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist.<\/p>\n

Burkins had been struggling with hearing issues over several months. \u201cEverything sounded so muffled, and I had a ringing that wouldn\u2019t go away,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The ENT specialist was quick to notice the mass and suggested it might be cancerous, though they hesitated because of her young age.<\/p>\n

The diagnosis also revealed that her adenoids were severely inflamed and needed to be removed.<\/p>\n

While Burkins waited for her biopsy results, the left side of her throat started swelling up, forcing her to undergo a second biopsy.<\/p>\n

Read more At least 15 hikers missing as flash flood sweeps through Grand Canyon<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctor told me he had never seen anything quite like what I had going on. He couldn\u2019t be sure it was cancer, but he said it was very suspicious,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

CT scans soon revealed extensive tumor involvement across multiple regions, affecting the cervical lymph nodes near the base of her skull.<\/p>\n

In February, her worst nightmare came true and she was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cHearing 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,\u201d she told Newsweek.<\/p>\n

In the months after the diagnosis, Burkins underwent chemotherapy and radiation therapy, which has caused the cancerous mass to shrink significantly.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything is shrinking and responding to the treatments my doctors have been giving me, so they\u2019re optimistic that I\u2019ll be cancer-free,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

She hopes that her story can become a reminder for people that \u201ccancer doesn\u2019t discriminate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy 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,\u201d Burkins said.<\/p>\n

As Burkins nears the completion of her cancer treatment, her ultimate wish is simple: To watch her kids grow up, fully cancer-free.<\/p>\n

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Read more GOP trailing in 8 battleground Senate races 2 months before Election Day: polling aggregate<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following a flight to Chicago, Aida Burkins of Hemet was diagnosed with a rare type of head and neck cancer that begins in the upper part of the throat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia woman, 22, diagnosed with cancer after her ears didn't pop on flight to Chicago - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7737\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California woman, 22, diagnosed with cancer after her ears didn't pop on flight to Chicago - 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