A young mum had her leg amputated after tumours caused by a condition in childhood turned out to be cancerous.
Chantelle Cox, had her right leg removed from above the knee on January 4 just months after receiving surgery to remove tumours on her foot and ankle that had plagued her since she was 10 years old.
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When Chantelle was a toddler, her mum noticed a lump on her right ankle. Doctors originally suspected she had a club foot after her limb swelled to double the size, but she was later diagnosed with neurofibromatosis (NF).
The rare genetic condition causes benign tumours to grow in the nervous system and were previously thought to be inoperable.
After surgery to remove the tumours at a specialist clinic in Manchester in June 2022, a biopsy found the growths to be cancerous.
Nursing student Chantelle, 25, told the Record : "Growing up, I'd always been told my tumours were inoperable because they were intertwined with my nerves, so I was relieved to finally have them removed.
"After the biopsy and an MRI found the cancer, amputation was put forward as the only treatment option.
"When I found out my leg was going to be amputated I just went quiet. I didn't want to talk to anybody, I was crying everyday.
"Before the operation at Woodend Hospital in Aberdeen, I was just lying on the bed crying."
Chantelle's cancer, known as Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour, is extremely rare and affects just five per cent of NF patients.
As well as chronic pain, Chantelle had to deal with cruel comments from her peers.
She said: "Growing up with NF was really difficult because I was out of school a lot. I couldn't wear shoes some days because of the swelling, so I couldn't leave the house.
"People were really nasty at times, laughing at me or pointing at my foot. I was upset that I wasn't normal when I was younger."
Just two days after her operation, the brave mum-of-one was already moving around on her crutches, prompting doctors to discharge her a week before most amputee patients.
In less than a month the Dundee and Angus College student has now raised £10,000 for a state-of-the-art prosthetic limb and says she is determined to fulfil her dream of becoming a cancer nurse.
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She continued: "My dream is to become a nurse in oncology and help patients who are going through what I did. That's kept me going throughout all this."
"Since the amputation I've been staying positive. I've shocked all the doctors and physios with how quickly I was able to start moving around.
"A prosthetic leg would allow me to become a nurse and be on my feet for 12 hours of the day doing something that I'm going to love for the rest of my life.
"I just can't wait to get back to the old Chantelle - being so happy all the time, energetic and not letting anything get in my way.
"And I can't wait to play with my son Harry, who is 20 months. I'm so determined to get back to normal."
You can donate to Chantelle's fundraiser here.
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