Woman’s Back Pain, Weight Loss Caused by Deadly Fungal Infection Valley Fever

• Desiree Chan developed back pain, coughing, fatigue, night sweats, and weight loss in late 2020. 
• Doctors tested the 33-year-old for many infectious diseases, like pneumonia or tuberculosis. 
• After about a month, she was diagnosed with Valley fever, a potentially deadly fungal infection. 

When Desiree Chan got out of the bathtub on New Year’s Eve in 2020, a shooting pain tore through her neck and spine. She crawled into bed, and stayed there for two days. 

The next week, Chan, then 33, went to the doctor. She tested negative for COVID, so the doctor gave her pain meds for what he thought was run-of-the-mill back pain. 

Six days later, Chan, who lives in Los Angeles, developed a phlegmy cough. This time, her doctor prescribed cough medicine. 

But Chan remained in pain and was increasingly fatigued, so her doctor ordered an X-ray. The scan revealed infiltrates — or dense particles that can be indicative of disease — in Chan’s lungs. She was given medicine for what, by now, her doctor suspected was pneumonia. 

Still, Chan said her cough was so “debilitating” she struggled to talk on the phone with friends. And even when she stayed quiet, “it felt like an elephant was stepping on my chest,” she said. She rapidly lost weight, and developed such intense night sweats she’d have to change her pajamas throughout the night. 

“I thought I was dying,” Chan, who runs a travel company, said. “I had no idea what was going on.” 

Neither did doctors. It took countless tests, a handful of specialists, and many weeks for Chan to be diagnosed with Valley fever, a potentially deadly fungal infection that’s been on the rise in recent years. Chan and her fiancé, Lucas Marton, 34, talked to Insider about the experience to raise awareness of the strange disease — and that recovery is possible.

Most people who inhale the fungus that causes Valley fever don’t get sick 

Valley fever, or Coccidioidomycosis, is an infection caused by inhaling spores of Coccidioides fungus, which is found in soil. It’s named after the San Joaquin Valley in California, but is also found in Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, California, Texas and Washington. 

The infection has been on the rise in unexpected places in recent years, likely due to climate change, Insider’s Gabby Landsverk previously reported.

Not everyone who inhales the spores will get sick, but about 40% of those who do develop flu-like symptoms. Around 1 in 10 patients can have serious side effects, like permanent lung damage. Rarely, people with Valley fever die if the infection spreads to places like the skin, joints, or spinal cord. 

Chan said doctors don’t know why she was susceptible, since she’s young and otherwise healthy. Typically, people with weakened immune systems — like those who are pregnant, older, or who have a condition like diabetes — are at highest risk. 

Still, Chan feels lucky her team stopped at nothing to get at the root of her symptoms. “I had doctors who knew what tests to run right away, so that it didn’t spread throughout my body,” she said. “I am grateful for that.” 

Doctors ran tests for all kinds of infectious diseases before concluding it was Valley fever 

Doctors largely came to Chan’s diagnosis via process of elimination.

Pneumonia was ruled out after Chan’s medication course ended, but the infiltrates remained. The next suspected culprit was tuberculosis after a CAT scan revealed a mass in Chan’s lung.

“Pack a bag,” Chan doctor said when directing her to the ER, “you’re going to be there for awhile.”