Woman cuts short dream trip after cancer diagnosis

Mollie Mulheron found out she had a "melon-sized" tumour in her heart and lungs

A woman from North Yorkshire is hoping to save lives by sharing her story of cutting short a dream trip to South America due to a cancer diagnosis.

Mollie Mulheron, 25, from Skipton, had been teaching English in the Galápagos Islands, but returned home when she noticed symptoms including breathlessness, itchy skin, fast heartbeat and extreme fatigue.

Ms Mulheron was diagnosed with stage four blood cancer last March and was told she had a "melon-sized" tumour on her heart and left lung.

She has been in remission since November, and now works to raise awareness of symptoms in young people, saying she hopes to “make something good come out of getting cancer”.

Ms Mulheron spent 125 days in hospital when she returned to the UK

She told the BBC: “I went to the doctors multiple times when I was on the islands and they told me it was anxiety, it was hormones, that I had to eat more veg, I had a heavy backpack - it was everything but something serious, and it kept getting a lot worse very fast.

“So I decided to come back to England to get checked out by the NHS and left all my stuff out there as I thought I’d be going back in a couple of weeks.

“In a few hours of getting off the plane I just collapsed in the supermarket with my grandparents and went to A&E, did loads of tests and they found a melon-sized tumour which was engulfing my heart and my left lung as well.”

She spent 125 days in hospital, saying she went from “being active every day to being someone who was bed bound, not knowing if I’ve got a future or not”.

But she is now travelling to universities, colleges, schools and workplaces to share her story and to highlight what symptoms young people can look out for to ensure they get diagnosed sooner.

She said: “I’ve had the most intense chemotherapy known to man.

"The doctors told me they would have to bring me to the point of death to try and save me as I was very near death, but somehow I’ve come back from it and it is amazing as my body can recover from the lowest of lows.

“It’s been important for me to tell people about the symptoms as I’ve met so many people but unfortunately, because their cancer was found too late, they have passed away, and it didn’t have to happen or wouldn’t have happened if it was found earlier."

Ms Mulheron said she was living in paradise before becoming unwell

Dr Louise Soanes, chief nurse at the Teenage Cancer Trust, said the five most common symptoms of cancer in young people were lumps, bumps and swellings, unexplained tiredness, mole changes, persistent pain, and significant weight change.

She said: “Awareness of these is concerningly low, as just 17% of young people aged 13-24 can identify any of the five most common signs of cancer, and young people have to see their GP more times before diagnosis than any other age group, meaning many face potentially life-threatening delays to getting their cancer diagnosed and treated.

“Listen to your body, and if something isn’t right, please seek help at the earliest opportunity.

"And if you’re not getting the answers that you need don’t be afraid to keep going back and asking for your concerns to be properly investigated.”

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