A student whose telltale cancer symptoms were dismissed as “teenage problems” has warned young people to insist doctors take them seriously, especially if they suffer from five “red flag” warning signs.
Georgia Kennedy, now 21, of Peterborough, was 19 when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of blood cancer that is on the rise in those under 20.
The trampoline gymnast coach had been fighting fatigue since she was 15, so intense that she was forced to abandon all sporting activities.
He claims doctors told him he would “grow out of it.”
However, Kennedy also had another sign of blood cancer that she herself ignored: a lump in her neck around her collarbone, which doctors also failed to detect.
In October 2022, he visited a GP seeking help for a cough that wouldn’t go away.
“They looked at my notes, saw that I had asthma when I was younger, and told me to use inhalers for a few weeks,” he said.
‘It was getting worse, so a few weeks later I called them again and they asked me how I would like to proceed. I was only 19 and had no idea.
Georgia Kennedy, from Deeping Gate in Peterborough, was just 19 when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.
The trampoline gymnast coach (pictured a week before she was diagnosed) had struggled with fatigue since she was 15. It was so severe that he gave up all his sports and reduced his activities, but he says doctors told him he would outgrow it.
‘I ended up getting a chest x-ray a few days later. They said the scan looked abnormal, but it was nothing urgent and they would have more detailed images after Christmas.
Three days before Christmas 2022, Kennedy had difficulty breathing and went to the emergency room at Peterborough City Hospital, where doctors performed another scan.
It was here that a nurse gave him the devastating news that, according to the x-ray, while the cough could be an infection, it was most likely cancer.
The lump, which had grown slightly over the course of two years, was a swelling in his lymph node, typical of his type of blood cancer.
Hodgkin lymphoma is a rare cancer that develops in the lymphatic system, a network of vessels and glands called lymph nodes that are part of the immune system and spread throughout the body.
Lymph nodes commonly become swollen in response to an infection due to a group of fighter cells that accumulate in the gland to destroy the intruder. But they usually return to their normal size after a short time.
However, in Hodgkin lymphoma, these cells develop abnormally and multiply rapidly, forming permanent growths in the lymph nodes.
“I hadn’t even registered cancer as an option, so I thought that couldn’t be right,” Kennedy said.
‘I remember having tunnel vision, I couldn’t really hear anyone and it was like my senses had disappeared. I sat there thinking this can’t be happening.’
Hodgkin lymphoma is diagnosed in around 2,000 Britons a year. But cancer rates are rising among young people and cases have increased by 32 per cent in people under 24 since the early 1990s, according to Cancer Research UK.
Kennedy also had another sign of blood cancer: a lump in his neck around his collarbone. But since it grew slowly, she didn’t think about it.
Ms Kennedy received six cycles of chemotherapy which she completed in May 2023. After her remission she went traveling and is now studying theater at the University of Manchester.
In addition to lumps in the lymph nodes, cancer can also cause shortness of breath, persistent cough, and fatigue, due to anemia caused by a low red blood cell count.
Catching symptoms early and getting a diagnosis before cancer spreads can save lives.
But most young people are unaware of the main warning signs of cancer in young people.
Research from the Teenage Cancer Trust revealed that only 17 per cent of 13 to 24-year-olds know the top five warning signs of cancer in young people.
These symptoms are: lumps and swellings anywhere on the body, unexplained tiredness, mole changes, persistent pain, and unexplained weight change.
“You hear about checking your breasts for lumps or lumps, but you’re never told to check anywhere else like your neck or lymph nodes, so you wouldn’t do it,” Ms. Kennedy said.
‘I had also lost about 10 kilos from the summer until that Christmas and, again, I didn’t realize it.
“I feel like I’m partly to blame because I didn’t realize a lot of these things and I think my mom feels a little guilty about that too.”
“But you never think it’s going to be cancer and the symptoms can last longer than you think.”
Kennedy received six cycles of chemotherapy which she completed in May 2023 and is now in remission.
He celebrated his recovery by traveling and is now studying theater at the University of Manchester.
Louise Soanes, head nurse at Teenage Cancer Trust, said: “It is very important to know your own body to be able to detect any changes.
“Although cancer among young people is rare, it does happen, so it is very important for young people to know the most common signs.”