A 25-year-old woman has shared her harrowing battle after mistaking cancer symptoms as an allergic reaction.
Antonia’s ordeal simply began as a rash on her face, which quickly turned into recurring life-threatening anaphylactic episodes.
The singer, from Jersey, initially thought she was allergic to either her makeup, perfume or body products; so she stopped using them completely.
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But after numerous hospital admissions, where she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, Antonia was told that it was, in fact, thyroid cancer.
Now, she’s hoping to share her story to raise awareness for the signs to look out for, before it’s too late – especially as her life was constantly on the line.
“It was really difficult being diagnosed with cancer in my 20s,” Antonia told Need To Know.
“I felt as though I was getting left behind and all my friends were ahead of me getting on with their lives.
“It took a really long time to come to terms with my diagnosis and mourn the life I thought I was going to live.
“I felt a mixture of emotions which included relief.
“After three years of being unwell, I had finally been given an answer.
“It wasn’t the answer I wanted; but once I had a diagnosis, it meant I could start treatment and battle the illness head-on.
“It went from just having a rash on my face to having an anaphylactic shock while I was having dinner with my housemate.
“I couldn’t breathe and I thought I was having a heart attack.
“It was getting scary.”
Antonia, who was studying at the University of Brighton, had ten anaphylactic episodes over the course of one year.
The life-threatening allergic reaction causes the immune system to release a flood of chemicals that makes the body go into shock; including blood pressure drops, airways narrowing, skin rashes and a weak pulse.
Each time, she was sent via ambulance to hospital – but the cause remained unknown.
She said: “Because it was during the height of Covid, they didn’t have time to do tests on me to get to the route of it.
“I restricted my diet to try and manage the shocks, but even things I thought were safe, like bananas, brought me out in a rash.
“I lost about three stone, but I put that down to my new diet.
“I kept going back to the doctors, but they thought I was just anxious or a hypochondriac
“Because I was a student, they asked me if I smoked or drank, but I didn’t do either as I was very health conscious.”
Antonia, worried about her studies, decided to move back home in February 2021 to continue her degree remotely, rather than deferring for a year.
While there, her condition worsened.
She said: “I had a lump in my throat and was tired all the time.
“I would go home from work and sleep.
“I remember thinking that I wasn’t living the life of a normal 24-year-old and my friends said I wasn’t as loud or fun anymore.
“It wasn’t a criticism; they were genuinely worried about me.
“I thought there was more going on with my body, so I persisted and didn’t take no for an answer.”
Antonia was referred to an ENT specialist, who spotted the 2cm lump on her throat and referred her to have an ultrasound and biopsy, which came back inconclusive.
Not prepared to give up the fight, she went private to have the lump removed in March 2023, after reading about Love Island’s Demi Jones’ experience with the disease.
A week later, she had her cancer diagnosis confirmed and in April 2023, her thyroid was removed entirely.
Antonia said: “After having two surgeries in a short amount of time, I woke up and couldn’t talk.
“I started panicking and I cried because I love singing.
“I couldn’t sing for three months.
“I was really upset about it, but my voice returned and now I’m practising every day.”
Now, she’s sharing her story with the help of Teenage Cancer Trust as part of its #BestToCheck campaign to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of cancer.
Also to thank her Teenage Cancer Trust clinical nurse specialist, Skye, who supported her each step of the way.
Currently, she’s working as a finance administrator after completing her degree at home; but she hopes to teach music in the future.
The 25-year-old added: “I just knew that something wasn’t right.
“You know your own body better than anyone.
“Ask yourself: ‘Do I feel different? Am I more tired than usual? Do I feel itchy? Have I been losing weight for no reason?’
“I was told that I ‘looked too good to have cancer’ but what does cancer look like? It can be different for different people.
“I think uni students need to be extra vigilant because they are responsible for their health as they don’t have parents nagging them to go to the doctors.
“I think they are also more likely to think it’s fresher’s flu or that they are just run down due to trying to balance uni work with a social life.
“I was told: ‘You can’t be ill; you look too well’.
“I think comments like that invalidated a lot of what I went through.
“During treatment, I was just in survival mode and I thought that I’d be fine after my main treatment finished.
“People think that I’d be done now, but it’s hard to go back to normal and socialise again.
“They also don’t think that I need support anymore, but I still do.
“A lot of people don’t realise that once you’ve had cancer it will affect you forever.
“You’re still part of that club that you never wanted to be a part of.
“My friends are getting engaged, moving in with their partners and having babies, but I don’t know what’s in my future.
“There’s a lot of things that you don’t realise will be affected, like your fertility. I’m planning a baby shower for one of my friends and it’s hit me that I don’t know if I can have kids.
“You have to just tackle those things as they come along.
“It used to scare me not knowing what the future held and I had a set route in mind, but now I find it exciting.
“I want to take pleasure in being healthy and happy.”
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