Alice Wade
The night before your wedding can be a tense and nerve-racking experience.
But for Melissa Adams, the night before she planned to tie the knot with her husband, Matt, was far worse than just a new last-minute jitters.
After enjoying her rehearsal dinner surrounded by family and friends, the 31-year-old, from Alabama, was involved in a car crash that would change her life forever.
Speaking with WHNT, she recalled leaving the party the day before she was due to marry her husband in November last year. While on her way home, she was involved in a T-bone accident - when the front of one vehicle strikes the side of another - and was immediately rushed to the hospital.
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There, after having a number of scans, doctors discovered she had a total of 18 masses in her body.
She was later diagnosed with follicular dendritic cell sarcoma (FDCS) - an extremely rare form of cancer that often appears in the lymph nodes.
“There’s masses all in my abdomen and in my chest, there’s one that’s kind of on my heart,” she told the outlet.
In Melissa's case, her cancer had already developed to stage four - but despite this shocking news, she decided to put on a brave face and continue with her wedding plans.
“Obviously, my cancer has taken away so much from me," Melissa said.
It took travelling to multiple hospitals and oncology units for Melissa to finally get a diagnosis, and now, with the full understanding of her condition, she started treatment on Wednesday (April 1).
“I’m really excited to start chemo because it has been about 19, 20 weeks of a journey to get to this point,” she said.
“All I’ve wanted for those weeks was just to start a treatment plan and just to, you know, have a goal and something to work towards.”
But her treatment isn't cheap, and Melissa is hoping her GoFundMe page will help fund it.
In the post, she described her symptoms, which included back pain, which she had put down to her previous history of autoimmune issues.
"Looking back, I had been experiencing pain and other symptoms for some time, but I believed they were related to my autoimmune disease. Over the past few weeks, my condition has worsened - simple daily tasks have become painful, and walking has become difficult," she wrote.
"I thought I just needed to toughen up, you know.
"Other people have back pain, but mine was steadily getting worse, and that was actually because of the masses inside my body pushing on my organs and moving things around."
"I am now preparing to begin chemotherapy treatment and have to have a second biopsy due to other complications," she said in the post.
Now, she hopes her story will help raise awareness and encourage others to seek treatment if they are experiencing pain.
“It’s such a taboo thing to talk about, and it’s not cool to get online and cry, you know, or share your feelings, outwardly with just the world,” she wrote in a candid social media post about her condition.
“But I think that does kind of help other people who are maybe in the same boat as you.
"Had I not been in the car accident, I wouldn't know. I'm thankful that God hit me with the car, and that I get to, I get the chance to fight for my life. ...My prognosis isn’t great, but God has the last say."
So far, she has raised $37,640.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.