A young man has opened up about the symptoms he experienced before being diagnosed with stage four cancer at just 21 years old.
Jay Shew, from Sydney, Australia, admitted that he had been “brushing off” some early warning signs of his declining health until they could no longer be ignored.
Taking to social media, Jay shared his journey in hopes of raising awareness about the symptoms and urging others to visit a doctor as soon as possible if they notice similar issues.
In August 2023, a few months after his symptoms first appeared, Jay was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma—the most advanced stage of the disease.
As explained by Cancer Research UK, Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that develops in the lymphatic system and impacts white blood cells known as lymphocytes.
The charity notes: “When you have Hodgkin lymphoma, some of your white blood cells (B lymphocytes) become abnormal and multiply. You then have more lymphocytes than usual, but they can’t fight infections as well as they should.
“The cells can then clump together usually within lymph nodes or other parts of the lymphatic system to form tumours. This can cause problems in the lymphatic system and the part of the body where they are growing.”
Experts at Harvard have found that a symptom of Hodgkin’s lymphoma may sometimes present itself after consuming alcohol.
But what were the warning signs that Jay initially ignored?
In a TikTok video, he shared that the first indication of his health issue came after a routine blood test last summer.
“I didn’t have any symptoms at the time, I was just living normal everyday… A couple of days later, my results come back,” he explained.
“She calls me and she says, ‘Your calcium is high.’ I don’t think much of it, I left it. But when your calcium is high, it means that your bones are fighting off a disease. I didn’t know that.”
Months later, Jay mentioned that friends and family started noticing significant changes in his appearance—changes he didn’t recognize at the time.
Jay shared: “I started losing a lot of weight, and I literally turned white. I looked like a ghost, I was so pale. But I didn’t notice.”
“I looked in the mirror and thought, ‘I’m fine? I don’t look skinny, I don’t look pale.’ I couldn’t see it.”
“During this period, I had cancer symptoms, but I didn’t realize they were related to cancer.”
The Australian also recalled how he felt severe pain in his lower back, making it seem as though it was ‘breaking,’ which often interrupted his sleep. However, he assumed it was just a disc issue.
In addition, he would frequently wake up to drenched sheets from intense night sweats and felt ‘really, really tired’ every day.
“One morning, I woke up and thought I had wet the bed – that’s how bad it was,” Jay recalled. “I looked at my shirt and thought, ‘This is sweat?'”
“Another symptom was extreme fatigue, and I couldn’t move. I’d wake up and a couple of hours later, I’d be back in bed for a nap.”
@jayshew
Jay mentioned that he lost a significant amount of weight during this period, sharing: “Since I got the blood test up until [then], I was having every single cancer symptom, I just didn’t realise it.”
Other symptoms he experienced included a recurring rash on various parts of his body, along with ‘dry skin.’
He also began to feel chest pain “like he’d never had it before” and developed a “really bad cough,” which he initially believed was caused by a chest infection.
After consulting his GP and receiving antibiotics, Jay recalled feeling “brand new” but fell ill again three days later, only this time, it was much worse.
His doctor then recommended a CT scan at the hospital, where Jay was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Fortunately, Jay is now recovering after completing his treatment in July, and this has fueled his desire to raise awareness about cancer symptoms even more.
He shared with social media users in the comment section that he is “well and healthy now” and thanked them for their supportive messages regarding his journey.
“I’m glad I’m better now and at the moment, I’m just trying my best to maintain good health and of course convince other people to get themselves checked up before it’s too late,” he wrote.
