An Essex lady feels an ignored symptom was a warning sign of the cancer she later developed.
Jessica Hamersley attributed a red patch on her left shoulder that appeared and disappeared for a year to her eczema.
She assumed that her scented moisturizer was the only cause of the heat and throbbing, and it would soon subside.
The British woman’s fiancé forced her to see a doctor because he was concerned it was connected to the contraceptive pill, but it turned out to be far worse.
The 27-year-old tried a different drug, but the rash continued, and an X-ray in October of last year revealed the awful news.
There was a large tumor on her chest, and after several biopsies over the next several months, she underwent a keyhole procedure to remove and test the mass.
She received a stage 2A Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis in February 2024 after it had been developing for six months to a year.
The mass, nearly seven inches in size, had been exerting pressure on her heart even as her fiancé William was proposing; if she had waited any longer, the strain on her heart would have resulted in lumps developing on her collarbones and shortness of breath.
Fortunately, Jessica has been cancer-free since August of this year after a difficult course of treatment, and she has taken to TikTok to share her experience, encouraging others with similar symptoms to seek medical attention.
Speaking about her encounter, she admitted, “I assumed it was a flare-up on my leg, or did I catch myself while shaving? You never think about cancer.” “A rash on my leg literally saved my life,” Jessica explained.
Jessica, who is admittedly healthy and does not smoke or drink much, inexplicably stated that she felt ‘healthy’ when the tumors were in her chest.
“I remember when I went to the X-ray room, I said to the radiologist, This is really dramatic; I’m sorry for wasting your time,” she stated, not taking it seriously.
Other signs of lymphoma may emerge, although the British had almost none at the time.
She developed erythema nodosum, a rash on her leg that inflamed the fat.
According to the NHS, this disorder causes areas of skin to appear red or darker than normal skin pigment, and while it usually goes away within a few weeks, it may be an indication of Crohn’s disease.
She announced her cancer-free status on August 22 and is celebrating by going to Disney World with her fiancé, a topic they discussed during treatment, calling him her “rock through it all.”
Jessica plans to return to her customer service career after regaining her health and energy, but she will require follow-up scans and blood tests every few months to ensure she remains cancer-free.