I’m sharing my terrifying story after facing a death sentence at 24 – so you don’t face what I have

A WOMAN whose symptoms were repeatedly dismissed by doctors was finally diagnosed with an aggressive cancer.

Hannah Bird, 24, suffered from night sweats, weight loss, rashes and a persistent cough for six months.

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She went to the doctor about “three to four times a week” but was always dismissed.

In March 2022, Hannah was out skiing and developed back and chest pains and later contracted pneumonia.

Upon her return, the travel content creator went to another doctor who had her x-rayed.

Hannah was quickly diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) — a type of blood cancer that affects the immune system.

“It wasn’t a shock — I was relieved to finally have a diagnosis,” she explained.

According to the NHS, more than 13,000 people are diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma each year – and around a third have DLBCL.

Scans in April 2022 showed Hannah’s tumor occupied three quarters of her lungs.

The doctor said the cancer had already reached stage four – meaning it had spread to other parts of her body.

Studies suggest that overall, two in five of those who have stage 4 DLBCL do not survive.

Luckily for Hannah, she was enrolled in a clinical trial where she was given a non-chemoinvasive immunotherapy drug.

Instead of chemotherapy, this drug is less invasive, helping the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.

She said: “By the time I got my scan halfway through, my tumor had shrunk by 80 per cent.

“In September 2022 I had finished chemotherapy, all the cancer was gone, which was not normal.

“I’m the only person in the UK whose non-Hodgkin’s cancer has gone away with chemotherapy alone,” she said.

The young woman from Bristol, England is now urging people to get a second opinion if they are not happy with the doctor’s diagnosis.

“I went to the same doctor every time. I think if I had gone to a different doctor, the diagnosis would have been made much earlier,” she explained.

“If you think something is wrong, request a referral or a second opinion from another doctor,” she added.

Hannah was cleared to travel in October 2022 and has CT scans every 12 weeks to look for signs of cancer.

After being unable to travel for a year, Hannah and boyfriend Charlie Camper, 23, are completing a travel bucket list.

“The first trip we took to Turkey was absolutely amazing and the second trip we took was to the Arctic Circle in January,” she added.