A 22-year-old woman from England was stunned when she was diagnosed with blood cancer after doctors told her that her back pain was related to her new office job, according to PEOPLE. Now, she’s speaking up about her story to warn others about trusting your gut when it comes to your health.
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Doctors Tell 22-Year-Old With Blood Cancer Back Pain Was Due To Office Job
Lara Muller from the town of Guildford in Surrey began experiencing horrible neck and back pain in December 2024. These symptoms began popping up while she was also suffering from a chest infection.
This was unusual for her, as she had typically been a “fit and healthy” person in her teens and early 20s. After failed attempts at getting healthier, she visited her doctor and got a blood test.
Despite feeling like there was something bad happening, doctors claimed she was simply feeling tired due to being anemic. They also said she was experiencing back pain from sitting all day at her new office job.
“I felt so tired all the time so I went to the doctors and they did my bloods and they put it down to [anemia],” said Muller.
“I asked about the back and neck pain and they said as I’d started a new job and I sat down in a chair all day, it was probably to do with that. I went back two or three more times [to the doctor] because my symptoms got worse.”
Muller believed there was more to it than just that. “I felt like I was going crazy,” she said. “I knew there was something wrong with me and I was just getting worse but no one was hearing it.”
It took her coughing up blood after another chest infection to request an emergency X-ray and CT scan. These tests uncovered a mass in her chest, and she eventually was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma.
Woman Shares Cancer Journey On TikTok
Now having a type of blood cancer after months of pain, Muller shared her story on TikTok. Her videos detailing her difficult experience with doctors underestimating her pain went viral.
In one of her posts, she described the mass as being 8 cm. She then shared pictures of herself where she had the mass but had no idea it was there.
Muller had only recently received this diagnosis in June. Luckily, ever since she underwent chemotherapy, she told her followers that she “got rid” of the cancer in a month and a half.
“Now [that] I’m having treatment and I have solutions and answers, I feel 10 times better than I did when I was ill and not knowing what it was,” said Muller. “But no one prepares you to hear that you have cancer at 22.”
Muller’s story is out there to warn others with similar symptoms to her. “I would say keep pushing if you think something is wrong with you,” she said. “I should have just trusted my gut instincts more, as you know in your gut how you’re feeling.”