A make-up artist has revealed the itchy skin she thought was caused by scabies or changing her washing power, was actually cancer.
April Grierson, 20, had chronic itching in June last year and at first thought, it was due to changing washing power.
But after changing brands and seeing no improvement, her GP later diagnosed her with scabies and sent her away with some creams.
After seeing a lump on her neck, doctors referred her to hospital - only to find out she had cancer.
The make-up artist from Liverpool has gone viral on TikTok explaining how it took six months after scabies diagnosis for doctors to eventually discover her cancer.
In November 2021, April was diagnosed with blood cancer Hodgkin's lymphoma.
April shared her experience in a video on TikTok, which has now racked up over 5.1 million views and 553,600 likes.
“I had this sense that something was wrong," April told Jam Press.
"I’d even told my mum I thought I had cancer but she put that down to me feeling so anxious.
“Turns out I was right and I’m so glad I kept going back to the doctors. I knew my own body."
She even sent her dog away for two weeks, just in case she was allergic.
April said: “At first I was trying to work out what I was allergic to.
"My skin itched day and night from my head to my feet. I was tearing at my skin.
“I couldn’t sleep and I was making myself bleed, I was red raw.
"I knew it couldn’t be scabies as it’s highly contagious and my boyfriend hadn’t caught it.
“I couldn’t get a face-to-face appointment because of Covid so I kept sending more pictures but the doctors said I had no rash or distinctive skin marks for them to make a diagnosis.
“In October, I found a lump in my neck that grew quickly.
"Within three weeks I had an appointment at a specialist head and neck centre.
“I was diagnosed with cancer that day after blood tests, CT scans and a biopsy showed I had blood cancer and it was a tumour on my neck.”
April’s boyfriend, Sean O’Flaherty, 23, had been waiting in the car during April’s four-hour appointment but was allowed inside when she was told the news.
April said: “I knew as soon as Sean was allowed in [that] it was cancer. I was so scared and just cried and cried.
"I couldn’t believe I had to drive home and tell my parents I had cancer. I was devastated.”
April now faces six months of twice-weekly chemotherapy cycles to kill the cancer which has spread from a lymph node in her neck to her chest and around her windpipe.
To make matters worse, April suffered a second tragedy when – before starting chemo – she underwent egg retrieval in case her future fertility was affected and suffered complications.
The fertility drugs used caused ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), which made her ovaries swell and leak fluid into her body.
April was in hospital for two weeks with fluid on her lungs and doctors ended up being able to retrieve seven eggs and four embryos.
She recently took to TikTok to share her story in the hopes that it will help others and encourage them to trust their instincts.
April added: “I'm raising awareness for everything I'm going through because I want people to know they know their body best.
“If my story helps one person to push for an appointment and listen to their body then I’ll be glad.”
The clip racked up more than 560,000 likes and was viewed five million times.
One user said: “So proud of you! Keep fighting angel x.”
“Strong woman,” another person commented.
Someone else added: “What you’re going through must be one of the scariest times in your life, thank you for sharing this. I want to follow so I can watch you beat this.”
