Woman shares 3 symptoms she ignored before being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer at 28

A woman has opened up about the three symptoms she ignored for months before receiving a heartbreaking diagnosis of stage 4 cancer.

Georgie Swallow has revealed the three symptoms she ignored for months before receiving a diagnosis of stage 4 cancer. Credit: Dave Benett / Getty

Georgie Swallow, a content creator from London, was only 28 when she was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma.

The young influencer initially dismissed the subtle symptoms she was experiencing - itchy legs, night sweats, and persistent exhaustion - as signs of stress and fatigue.

The severity of her condition only became apparent after she consulted her GP and they told her she had cancer.

“I would itch until I broke the skin which would keep me up all night. I went to the doctor and they thought it could be stress, allergies, or urticaria but no cream or lifestyle change would make it go," she told Surrey Live.

“During this time I was losing weight, having night sweats, constantly exhausted, and a never-ending stream of colds and flus but I just thought I was on the go too much and wearing myself out," she added.

Swallow told the publication that she discovered a peach-sized lump in her neck after being off work for two weeks due to a severe flu.

“Even then I wasn’t too worried because I just never even contemplated there would be anything serious wrong with me, naively!” she said.

The content creator assumed her symptoms were normal, and was worried that she was “wasting everyone's time." However, she later found out that signs of lymphoma are minor which is why the cancer is often detected so late.

“This is why lymphoma is diagnosed so late because you can brush the symptoms off so easily as other things," she said.

The now-32-year-old heartbreaking revealed that her cancer diagnosis has tragically resulted in early menopause and the loss of her fertility.

Speaking about this with Surrey Live, she said: “Cancer can take quite a lot away from you but having my fertility taken before I’d had a chance to have children was difficult. The menopause at any age can be difficult but at 28 I didn’t have anyone my age to talk to about it."

“None of my friends understood what I was going through, and as supportive as they were, it’s hard to comfort and relate to something you don’t understand,” she added.

The young woman is now keen to use her platform to spread awareness about the main lymphoma symptoms, and how it affects people physically and mentally.

"There are 42 recognized symptoms of menopause and I think we all talk about the hot flushes and loss of periods but the most important one for me would be mental health,” she explained.

“I have spoken to so many women who felt like they were having a nervous breakdown, myself included, because they didn’t realize what they were experiencing was menopause," she continued. “Your mood changes and you can suffer with low moments and I think the minute you recognize what it is, the less stressful it becomes.”

Featured image credit: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Getty