A 22-year-old mother’s ears refused to pop after a flight, but what initially seemed like a problem caused by air pressure eventually turned out to be something far more serious.
Aida Burkins, a 22-year-old mother of two from Hemet, California, was flying to Chicago in May 2025 when she noticed that her ears simply wouldn’t pop.
Over the following months, her symptoms became increasingly concerning. She began bleeding into her throat, something that was only noticeable when she bent forward at the waist. Her hearing continued to deteriorate, and she also began losing weight without trying.
Everything around her sounded muffled, accompanied by a constant ringing in her ears.
Months of Being Told It Was Nothing Serious
Burkins visited multiple doctors in search of an explanation, but she continued to be told that her symptoms were related to altitude sickness.
Eventually, one doctor discovered a mass blocking her Eustachian tube—the small passage that connects the middle ear to the back of the nose and throat.
Doctors also found that her adenoids were enlarged and inflamed, leading to their removal.
She was then referred to an ENT specialist, who immediately found the mass concerning. Because of Burkins’ young age, however, cancer was initially considered unlikely.
Then Came the Diagnosis That Changed Everything
While waiting for the results of her first biopsy, the left side of Burkins’ throat began to swell. Doctors performed a second biopsy, and this time the concern became even greater.
Her doctor told her just how unusual the situation appeared to be.
“The doctor told me he had never seen anything quite like what I had going on,” Burkins said. “He couldn’t be sure it was cancer, but he said it was very suspicious.”
CT scans revealed an even more troubling picture. Doctors discovered lumps throughout her body, including swollen lymph nodes near the base of her skull.
After undergoing surgery, Burkins finally received the diagnosis that changed her life: nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a rare form of cancer that develops in the upper part of the throat, behind the nose.
The disease is uncommon in the United States, affecting fewer than one in 100,000 people each year. It has been strongly associated with the Epstein-Barr virus, as well as genetic and environmental factors.
Processing the News as a Young Mother
When Burkins first learned that she had cancer, her thoughts immediately turned to her two children.
“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 has since begun chemotherapy and radiation treatment. According to Burkins, the tumor has already shrunk significantly, and her doctors remain hopeful that she can eventually become cancer-free.
Now, she has decided to share her experience publicly in the hope that others will take unusual or persistent symptoms seriously.
Her story is also a reminder that cancer can affect people at any age.
As Burkins put it, cancer “doesn’t discriminate.”