“Men, if you notice something is wrong, don’t just push it off in the hopes that it will get better.”

I'm an LA-based trending news writer covering health, politics, and internet culture.

"When I met the doctor, the first thing he said was, 'I wish you'd come to see me immediately. If you'd gotten here in the first 48 hours, there was an 85% chance we could have saved your hearing.' He went on to explain that I had sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), which has multiple causes. They can treat it with steroids in the first few days, but after that, there is no cure or treatment. I lost 85% of my hearing in that ear and now have to wear hearing aids the rest of my life. If you ever have my symptoms, get to a doctor and insist on being seen immediately."

"They started my chemo the following day. They gave me a 20% chance of surviving the first round. Well, I'm still here. After six rounds of chemo, I was in remission for two years when the leukemia came back. My brother was a 100% match, and after more chemo, I got a bone marrow transplant from him. I'm still here and pregnant with my second child. His immune system has kept me alive for the last eight years! Best gift ever. Interestingly, I now have his blood type, along with his allergies and sweet tooth. I had to get all the regular baby shots again, and I get sick more often with colds and stuff because my immune system lost all the immunity it had before."

"He very calmly told me that the symptoms for women were very similar, and that the asthma attack, if untreated, would have killed me just as much as a heart attack would have. I had to stay until the following evening before my blood oxygen normalized enough to go home. I always have an inhaler with me now, and do breathing treatments at home when I notice back cramps or difficulty breathing."

"Four hours later, the surgeon walked out of the OR and told my children that it was the worst appendix he had ever seen. I looked him up, and he's been a surgeon for 30 years. I lost about an inch of intestine because it had abscessed, spent five days in the hospital, and had to be readmitted because my infection came back. So, if you have a persistent pain in your lower right abdomen, even with no other symptoms, go to the doctor!!"

"The contraceptive pill kept the other symptoms away until I went off it, but not the pain during sex! I remember just ignoring it and thinking, 'I should get this checked out,' but I never did because I was embarrassed. I never knew it was actually a very serious issue. Endometriosis is SO common (1 in 10 women) that most don't even know they have it because we have been conditioned to put up with pain. Getting diagnosed and operated on early will prevent it from becoming severe (and prevent it from causing issues with your fertility, bowels, bladder, or kidneys, etc.) and means a quicker recovery. It took me a whopping six weeks to recover from the surgery! Don't ignore your body's signals that something is wrong! And don't let doctors dismiss you!"

"I had this pain badly for years, and just blamed my bad back. It interfered with a number of my activities, including cooking, baking, and gardening, for too long. I looked up POTS, had many of the symptoms, got tested, and confirmed that I have POTS. Now I know how to manage it and have an explanation for these random, weird symptoms. Although people joke about never looking up medical issues on the internet, I have found great help by doing so. I just never assume, and have doctors evaluate any possibilities."

"By the time of the surgery, the tumor had begun to wrap around my sciatic nerve, making surgery very risky. If the surgery had gone wrong, I could've lost the use of my leg. As an active 40-year-old, this was terrifying. Luckily, the surgery was a success, but I'm still having trouble walking normally. The cancer was the largest liposarcoma tumor the doctor had ever seen. So, folks, if you notice a lump anywhere, go get it checked out and don't wait for it to get better!"

"He stayed in the ICU for a month, intubated for seven of those days. Once discharged, he spent at least two weeks in the hospital each month for the next five months. He had blood transfusions every week for months and dialysis three days a week. This man suffered greatly. His quality of life was -10, and he was miserable. None of the doctors could figure out how he survived it all. He wasn't living; he just wasn't dying. So I say this to everyone… do not ignore the symptoms, get them checked! You aren't being tough. You're just not being smart. My husband of over 25 years passed away one year and two days from the day he was released from the first hospital stay."