A "fit and healthy" woman is urging others to prioritize their health after being unexpectedly diagnosed with stage-four cancer.
Emma Johnson, 43, from Newcastle, UK, was left in complete shock when doctors told her in January that she had an estimated two years to live - despite feeling completely normal.
Johnson, who is a hairdresser and stepmom to two boys, first noticed a small lump in her breast in December. She had a doctor's appointment shortly after and was told that it was “more likely just going to be a funny tissue," Daily Mail reported.
"I couldn't get in for an ultrasound and a mammogram for four weeks because everywhere was busy and it was Christmas, so I didn't really worry about it," she told the outlet.
However, when she finally had an ultrasound, her worst fears were realized - the lump was suspected to be cancerous.
A biopsy confirmed that she had double-positive breast cancer, and further scans revealed likely cancerous spots on her liver.
What was initially believed to be stage-two cancer had now progressed to stage four.
The 43-year-old is now using her story to urge others to be proactive about their health.
"Everyone's getting diagnosed so much younger with this so if you feel like you've got something, you've got to push and you've got to get your results, and you've got to be on it and say, 'I'm not waiting a week or two weeks.'" she said.
'If I [had] left it or waited until the end of February for my next scan I could have been dead," she continued. "I honestly didn't think anything of it when I when I felt the lump so people just need to realise that cancer is more common now in younger people. Get the ultrasound, double check... triple check."
Johnson was initially told she would undergo surgery and chemotherapy. However, after an MRI and PET scan, her medical team informed her that surgery was no longer an option.
"They said there's no surgery, there's no chemo, and that I'll be given a hormone injection every 28 days and two pills to take a day. Oh, and they added that I've probably got about two years to live on them," she explained.
"I'm so fit and healthy, so it's weird being told I have cancer. I feel normal, I don’t feel sick at all—it’s just crazy to hear I have two years left," she added.
The hairdresser is determined to fight and has been researching alternative treatments. She connected women in Australia who have the same cancer and learned about a clinic in Cancun, Mexico, that has reportedly shown promising results.
She is now fundraising to travel there, hoping it could be the breakthrough she needs. "I don't know if this is 100 percent going to fix me, but somewhere in my gut, my heart, I just know that it's the right path," she said.
You can support Johnson's journey by donating to her fundraiser.