Liv Bridge
A woman has revealed the three crucial symptoms she turned a blind eye to before being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.
Georgie Swallow, a content creator from London, UK, was just 28-years-old when she received the devastating news that she had stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma and was unable to conceive children after the cancer treatment triggered an early menopause.
However, she said she ignored many tell-tale signs for around a year and a half, assuming she was just tired and stressed.
It was only when doctors gave her the diagnosis that she realized just how sick and serious her condition was.
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She explained: "After being off work for about two weeks with a serious bout of flu I went into the office and whilst at my desk discovered a peach sized lump in the side of my neck.
"Even then I wasn’t too worried because I just never even contemplated there would be anything serious wrong with me, naively."
Georgie said she was worried she was 'wasting everyone's time' in her trips to the doctor, and shrugged off her symptoms.
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Now 32, Georgie has revealed the cancer and its gruelling treatment has taken its toll on her physical and mental health, and is exposing the main three signs of lymphoma she ignored in a bid to help others.
The three symptoms she struggled the most with were itchy legs, night sweats and generally feeling exhausted.
She explained: "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.
"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."
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She added symptoms of lymphoma can be quite minor which is why the cancer is often detected so late, 'because you can brush the symptoms off so easily as other things', she added.
As an additional side effect, Georgie went into early menopause which she described as feeling like she'd been 'hit by a bus'.
She continued: "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.
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"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.”
Georgie is now working hard to raise awareness about the main lymphoma symptoms - and the mental health impact early menopause can have.
Georgie Swallow is working in partnership with Boots and Macmillan Cancer Support to raise awareness of early menopause caused by cancer treatment. For more information click here.