Woman Reveals 3 Subtle Symptoms She Ignored Before Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis at 28

At just 28 years old, London-based content creator Georgie Swallow faced a life-altering diagnosis: stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma. What made the news even more devastating was the toll the cancer and its aggressive treatment took on her body—triggering early menopause and ending her chances of having biological children.

Looking back, Georgie says she unknowingly lived with signs of cancer for more than 18 months. She believed her symptoms were simply due to being overworked and stressed.

It wasn’t until she returned to work after a severe bout of flu that she realized something was wrong. “I was sitting at my desk and felt a lump the size of a peach on the side of my neck,” Georgie recalled. “But even then, I didn’t panic. I never considered it might be something serious.”

Georgie admitted she was hesitant to visit a doctor, worried she was making a fuss over nothing. “I honestly thought I was wasting their time.”

Now 32, Georgie is using her platform to raise awareness about Hodgkin lymphoma and the three major symptoms she wishes she hadn’t brushed off: constant fatigue, severe nighttime sweating, and relentless itching.

“The itching was unbearable—I’d scratch until I bled, and it kept me up at night,” she said. Though doctors initially suspected allergies, stress, or a skin condition like urticaria, no treatment brought relief. Meanwhile, Georgie was losing weight, constantly sick with colds and flu, and running on empty.

“Lymphoma symptoms can be subtle,” she explained. “That’s why people often don’t catch it early. It’s easy to chalk them up to something else.”

The cancer diagnosis was only the beginning. Georgie underwent treatment that forced her body into early menopause—something she described as being “hit by a bus.”

“Cancer takes a lot from you, but the hardest part was losing my fertility before I even had the chance to try for children,” she shared. “Going through menopause at 28 was incredibly isolating. My friends were supportive, but they couldn’t truly understand what I was experiencing.”

Today, Georgie is committed to educating others about the early warning signs of cancer and advocating for greater awareness of how early menopause affects mental health.

Her message is clear: Don’t ignore your body’s signals. What seems like stress or fatigue might be something more serious.