Getting diagnosed with stage 4 cancer is one of the most frightening things a person or their loved ones can go through. When cancer reaches such an advanced stage, treatment becomes more challenging and options can feel limited. This is why regular medical checkups are so important. They give doctors a chance to catch potential issues early when they are most treatable.
But regular checkups are only part of the picture. Paying attention to your own body is just as important. Small physical changes can be easy to ignore or brush off as stress or tiredness, yet sometimes they are early warning signs that something more serious is happening. Self monitoring can make a real difference.
A UK-based content creator named Georgie Swallow is using her own experience to spread that message. She is raising awareness about Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system. This system is responsible for helping the body fight infections, so when cancer disrupts it, the effects can spread quickly.
Swallow discovered these symptoms in herself, but at the time she minimized them. She was only 28 years old when she was diagnosed. She assumed she was too young and too healthy for cancer to be a concern. She repeatedly told herself she was simply stressed and did not want to feel like she was bothering her doctor over nothing. Even when she noticed a lump on her neck, she convinced herself it was harmless.
Her diagnosis changed everything. Cancer treatment saved her life, but it brought heavy consequences. As a result of her therapy, she entered early menopause long before she planned to have children. That loss has been emotionally devastating.
Now at 32 years old, Swallow has been open about how cancer affected not just her physical health but her mental well being. She described feeling alone when facing menopause at such a young age. None of her friends could truly understand what she was going through, and she felt cut off from relatable support.
The three early symptoms she ignored included persistent itching, especially on her legs, severe night sweats, and ongoing fatigue that never seemed to improve. At the time, she convinced herself these were issues caused by stress or allergies. She went to a doctor for the itching, and they suggested creams and lifestyle changes, but none of them helped. She would scratch until her skin broke and still found no relief.
Along with these symptoms, she noticed she was losing weight without trying. She caught colds constantly and always felt worn out. Still, she pushed through her days and blamed an overbooked lifestyle.
Looking back, Swallow wants others to learn from her experience. She worries that many people overlook the same symptoms for the same reasons. When warning signs are ignored, diagnosis can be delayed, and that delay can lead to a more advanced stage of cancer by the time treatment begins.
Her early menopause, she says, felt like being hit by a bus. It came suddenly and took something important from her. Cancer, she explained, can strip away things you never expected to lose.
“The menopause at any age can be difficult,” she said. “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 relate to something you have never experienced.”
Swallow hopes that by speaking up, she can help others recognize these symptoms sooner instead of writing them off. Awareness saves time, and time in cancer treatment saves lives. If someone reading her story sees a little of themselves in what she went through, they might decide to speak with a doctor sooner rather than later. And that choice could change everything.