Doctors Said Not To Worry About the Lump, Then It Kept Getting Bigger
Newsweek · C · trust 47/100
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. When the beginning of 2026 rolled around, I had hoped this year would mark a fresh start. Having already been through an unthinkable amount of grief by the time I reached 21, I just wanted to feel optimistic about what lay ahead.
Unfortunately, I never could have predicted what the year had in store for me.
In January, I was visiting my doctor and she started doing a physical assessment of my face, neck and jaw. As she was doing the observation, she felt a small lump in my neck. I did not feel too concerned at the time, however, especially because the lump was so small.
The doctor asked if I had recently been unwell (as the lump could be from an infection my body was still getting over). It was flu season after all, so it was easy to dismiss. I was told to come back in around six weeks if it had not gone away, so it barely even registered that it could be anything more severe.
For the following weeks, I continued to monitor the lump in my neck and hoped it would go away naturally.
Yet, more than a month after it was found, it was still there and it had even started to grow.
I went back to the doctor in mid-March when I realized that not only was the lump getting bigger, but there were two more small lumps also coming through. Again, I was told that it could be the result of a recent infection, and I also suffer with chronic sinusitis, so my doctor believed that could also be the reason why.
I was told to return in six to eight weeks if there was still no improvement.
No surprise, the lumps were in fact still there by April—and there were even more. By spring, I had at least seven lumps in my neck, all of which fluctuated in size. I also started to pick up on some unexpected symptoms such as fatigue, itchy skin and occasional night sweats. I lost some weight without trying, so I started to feel a lot more concerned about the root cause of all this.
I knew by this point that this was not normal, and by my third appointment, I urged my doctor to take me seriously.
I was finally referred to the hospital for an appointment at the head and neck clinic in April. The consultant agreed that the lumps needed to be assessed, so I scheduled to come back for an ultrasound and biopsy a few weeks later. I felt nervous for the biopsy, but I just kept telling myself that everything would be OK.
Once the biopsy was taken, I had to wait a few weeks for the results. I started to mentally prepare for the worst as the lumps kept getting bigger and there were so many of them.
I tried not to dwell on it, but I remember seeing a notification pop up on my phone screen that said “Oxford lymphoma biopsy.” I presumed the biopsy was to rule out lymphoma, so I didn’t think too much of the alert initially. I couldn’t see the results attached to it, but I was slightly confused as to why it mentioned Oxford.
Little did I know, they had sent off my results to a hospital in Oxford for further analysis.
Days passed and the next week I was at a friend’s house when I looked at my phone and saw three missed calls from the hospital. I also had a message scheduling me for an emergency appointment the following day, so at this point, I went into complete panic mode.
No longer could I hide the fears that I managed to keep buried for so many months.
I arrived at the hospital the next day and walked into the room, ready to hear my fate. That appointment was a lot to take in, as it was not just with the consultant who referred me for testing, but there was also a woman with a badge that said, “cancer services.”
“I am not going to sugar coat this,” the consultant said to me. “The biopsy has come back showing that you have lymphoma.”
In just a few moments, my entire world had been turned upside down. I was just 21 years old. How was this real?
I sort of laughed it off and switched off after hearing those words. The other woman then walked me through the hospital corridors along with my mom, and she guided us to the hematology department where I would speak to another consultant.
I tried to make jokes throughout the appointments, hoping the levity would ease the emotional situation. I did not even cry until the doctors told me that I was going to lose my hair and I was no longer allowed to go on vacation. I had planned to make the most of the summer, and yet here I was stuck in a hospital room being told that I have stage two Hodgkin lymphoma.
Those early weeks after my diagnosis passed by in a blur of shock. I struggled to process what happened, and I still find it hard to comprehend now.
My treatment plan consisted of six chemotherapy treatments to target the cancer. It has been incredibly grueling as the treatment caused a lot of side effects, particularly weakness, acid reflux and heartburn. By June, my hair started to fall out rapidly, so I made the decision to shave my head before that choice was taken away from me.
In late July, I had a PET scan to monitor my progress, and to my amazement, it showed that I am in remission. There is no more active cancer in my scans, so we have reduced my chemotherapy plan accordingly. I have one more protocol to go and then I will be able to ring the end of treatment bell once and for all.
While my overall health is manageable now, I am still trying to figure out how this came to be my reality. In the last few years, I have experienced a lot of grief, and I truly believe that after battling cancer now as well, I am done with bad luck and can finally start healing. The combination of grief and cancer is not something that I would wish upon anyone.
My reminder to others is to always trust your instincts because you know your body best. If you sense something is wrong, such as a lump that appears out of nowhere, get it checked.
Renee Coakes, 22, from the U.K. is using social media (@renegadesspamx on…
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