A woman who suspected she might have tonsillitis found out the condition was far worse. Photo / 123RF
A healthy woman who had no other symptoms besides a sore throat was shocked to find out she had cancer.
When Renae Wooten felt a tickle in the back of her throat, she thought it might be the start of a bout of tonsillitis – something she had experienced a few times before.
As the days went on, the 29-year-old year old said her pain worsened, and it began to feel like she had food stuck at the back of her throat.
Taking a look with a torch at her tonsils, she was puzzled to see a lump – so in October 2021, decided to visit a doctor.
"I had a niggling in the back of my throat, but didn't really think much of it," Wooten told news.com.au.
"I thought it could be the start of tonsillitis. That night it was still there, and kind of felt like I had food in the back of my throat.
"I had a look, and there was a lump, and I thought 'yeah that's not normal'.
"I was a little concerned, but didn't think it was anything.
"In my mind, I was textbook healthy. I didn't drink or smoke, I eat really clean, I try and limit the toxins in my life, I work out.
"I sent my family a photo, and they urged me to seek medical advice."
When Wooten booked in to see a doctor, she was told right away that it was not tonsillitis, and was referred to a throat specialist.
After undergoing further testing, Renae received the life-changing news that she had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
This is a type of cancer that begins in the lymphatic system, which is part of the body's germ-fighting immune system.
"The doctor said it could potentially be a ruptured cyst, or quinsy, so I was given antibiotics and was told to return in 48 hours," she explained.
"But overnight the lump got bigger, so I went to hospital. They had me undergo a biopsy and CAT scan.
"When I left the hospital, they had originally booked me in to return 10 days later, but I got a call to come in earlier.
"I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Specifically, anaplastic large cell T lymphoma which was ALK-positive. This is very rare.
"Due to Covid, I was alone when I received the news, which was hard.
"That moment is very blurry, I went numb. I remember saying there was no way this was possible.
"And they said it's just bad luck, and there was nothing I could have done to prevent this."
After being hit with such a devastating blow, Wooten recalls feeling "guilty" due to the perceived burden she believed it would place on others.
"My partner called me and I broke down in tears. I felt really guilty," she recalled.
"I had seen the horror stories of cancer, and the tolls it could take on loved ones.
"We were both really young, and I said to him you don't have to stay with me.
"It broke my heart, but I knew I had to give him the option to leave. It wasn't fair on him.
"But he just kept saying he wasn't going anywhere. And he didn't."
While Wooten hadn't yet had children, she said she had always dreamt of being a mother.
Due to the effect chemotherapy can have on a woman's fertility, Wooten took the steps to have some of her eggs retrieved so that she could have a baby in the future.
"My specialist was so lovely and I felt safe with him every step of the way," she said.
"He told me my cancer is very rare and very aggressive. He gave me the plan, and was totally on board.
"My specialist spoke to an IVF clinic, and we started the egg collection process.
"It was crazy, because 10 days prior to that, I'd been living a normal life.
"Then I'd been diagnosed with cancer and was having my eggs collected.
"It was wild. It didn't feel real."
Wooten underwent six rounds of chemotherapy as part of her treatment.
Doctors told her that it was going to cause her hair to fall out, so she decided to buzz it off before that occurred naturally.
"I never wanted to be a victim of it, and I didn't want it to control my life," she said.
"Every round was different. Originally I was quite naive.
"I thought, I'm a healthy person, this won't affect me, I'm going to have no side effects.
"They said to me straight out, Renae you're going to lose your hair. That was really hard for me, because I had long, beautiful hair.
"My first round was a breeze. The second round I got through the treatment, but that evening I couldn't stop throwing up.
"Then my hair began falling out, so we buzzed it.
"I started getting acupuncture, and I never vomited after that. It helped so much.
"By round 4, I was exhausted, physically, mentally and emotionally. I didn't want to do it anymore.
"After that round, we did scans and discovered the cancer had completely gone and I was in remission.
"But I still had to do the last two rounds of chemo just to be sure."
Wooten said the experience has made her appreciate life more than ever before.
She also urges young people to always seek help if something doesn't feel right.
"You have to trust your gut, and go to the doctor if anything is wrong," she said.
"Having cancer changed me as a person. It made me appreciate life, and not take anything for granted.
"It gave me lots of 'blessons', which is my word for lessons and blessings.
"I know cancer can be a dark and horrible thing, but it doesn't always have to be."
Wooten has since started a podcast to connect with other young people who have gone through serious medical health issues such as cancer.
September is blood cancer awareness month, a time to raise awareness of the different types of blood cancers.