Scots student who thought she was too young for cancer in tears at shock diagnosis
27.08.2023 - 12:39
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
A student was left in floods of tears when she was diagnosed with cancer - after thinking she was too young to get the disease. Abby Maxwell first became concerned when she found a lump in her armpit.
The 22-year-old's oxter became swollen and she was sent for an ultrasound at University Hospital Hairmyres. But despite the issue, she felt "light-hearted" about her appointment, not thinking it would be anything too serious, reports GlasgowLive.
But a series of biopsies confirmed Abby had Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, leaving the former Aldi worker, from Blantyre, Lanarkshire, completely shellshocked.
Abby said: "When you are young you don’t really think ‘I can get cancer’. It wasn’t bothering me or anything and the day I went for the ultrasound I was light-hearted until I walked in and talked to the doctor.
"I immediately just wanted to leave the room [when given the diagnosis] and get out of the hospital, I started crying. It was a shock."
Abby was started on chemotherapy treatment and lost her hair as a result. She added: "January was the worst month because there was a lot of waiting about and the unknown, I had a lot of anxiety.
"Losing my hair was a shock and it took a toll because, as a young woman, my hair was a big part of me. It was quite horrible to lose that. I took a step back from working because I didn't want to be there. Mum had a few break downs along the line.
Everyone surrounded me and were trying to keep my life as normal as possible. I tried to get out as much and went to concerts with my friends and tried to live a normal 22-year-old’s life."
The South Lanarkshire college student completed her studies in June - a week before her final chemotherapy session. A few weeks later, on July 28, Abby was given the