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By Alyce Collins
Senior Reporter
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A woman who spent years trying to find a remedy for her painful rashes was horrified when she learned that it wasn’t eczema after all, but she actually had Stage IV cancer.
Michelle Smith’s symptoms started in 2014 when she noticed unexplained lumps on the sides of her fingers and broke out in an itchy rash. She told Newsweek that the rash was "extremely intense" and led her to try any treatment possible to gain any semblance of relief. From scolding hot water to rubbing her hand against a hard surface, Smith, 29, tried everything to satisfy the itch.
The lumps were diagnosed as eczema for a long time, but the symptoms only seemed to get worse, despite the plethora of remedies she tried. Smith, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, wondered if it was a reaction to her soap, living in a new environment as she had moved to Texas, or perhaps the latex gloves she wore at work.
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"When the so-called eczema on my hands started getting bad, it was very alarming," Smith said. "I knew in my spirit that something was wrong, and I wasn’t sure why my eczema looked different compared to other people’s."
She continued: "I just tried to keep my hands as moisturized as possible because, if I let my hands get dry, they would literally crack open, which was very painful. I created a concoction of butters and oils that I researched, and that helped a lot, but flare-ups would always reappear."
Around two years after the supposed eczema started, Smith also noticed that her lymph nodes appeared swollen. She was taking a picture for her college ID and was left "in a state of shock" by a large lump under her chin.
Once Smith had seen the first, it was impossible not to see all the other lumps in her neck, collarbone and armpits. Doctors suggested they were probably just benign abscesses and didn’t look into Smith’s blood work.
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Throughout that time, Smith felt so much "shame and embarrassment" about her skin, as if she were keeping a dark secret.
"My nervous system was so sensitive, anything that touched me sent me into a scratch storm. It was truly awful and impacted on the quality of my life. I always felt like there was just something wrong with me," Smith continued.
The situation escalated when Smith sought a doctor for more treatment regarding her eczema. He took one look at her skin and, with a concerned look, told Smith that he wasn’t sure what the problem was, but it certainly wasn’t eczema.
Following that, Smith became increasingly concerned about the unexplained symptoms. She spotted her reflection in a window and could see another huge lymph node at the back of her neck, so she headed straight to the emergency room.
After looking at Smith’s lymph nodes and her blood work, doctors told her that she needed a biopsy because she likely had cancer. By October 2018, she was diagnosed with Stage IV peripheral T-cell lymphoma, which left her feeling terrified and hopeless.
"I had to go through three different chemotherapies and a bone-marrow transplant. I wasn’t responding to chemotherapy the way doctors had hoped for, so I needed the transplant to save my life," Smith told Newsweek.
"It was years of fighting for my life and was very close to my last days, but God saved me. Now, I can help others and spread awareness so they can find their cancer earlier than I did."
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Smith is now in remission and is feeling much healthier overall. She started sharing her experience on social media (@michellelouisee on TikTok) to highlight the symptoms that were overlooked for many years and try to raise awareness.
Following the cancer treatment, Smith went back to school and became a licensed esthetician in Pennsylvania. She now runs The Buttery Boutique, and one of her bestselling products is the body butter she made as a remedy to try to treat her itchy skin. Although she never actually had eczema, the butter has helped many others with that condition, psoriasis or contact dermatitis.
"Always advocate for yourself because we always know when something isn’t right with us. Do not stop until you get the answers that explain what you are going through," Smith said.
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