Georgia Kennedy was enjoying her first years of university in Manchester – completely unaware she had two common symptoms of a serious illness.

Georgia, originally from Peterborough, was a keen trampoline gymnast and coach, alongside having a busy social life. But her tiredness got the better of her and she had to cut down on her activities.

Georgia also spotted a suspicious lump on her neck. She says it all ‘made sense’ when she was later diagnosed with a life-threatening form of cancer.

Georgia, now 21, said: “I had tiredness since I was about 15. I never had an X-ray taken, I had ECGs, echoes, stress tests, sleep studies. I thought I had narcolepsy. I was told it was ‘teenage problems’ and that I’d get over it.

“I was a tired teenager compared to my friends. I’d stopped all my sports because of it and cut down on activities, but when Covid hit I put the issue on the back burner. When I was diagnosed it made sense.”

In October 2022, Georgia developed a cough which led to her going to hospital and being diagnosed with lymphoma. She is now working with Teenage Cancer Trust and calling for other young people to be aware of the five most common signs of cancer after suffering with the unexplained extreme tiredness and a lump on her neck.

Georgia, a University of Manchester student, said: “I thought my cough was seasonal so ignored it for a few weeks, but I wasn’t improving so I made an appointment. They looked at my notes, saw that I had asthma when I was younger and told me to use inhalers for a few weeks.

“It was getting worse so a few weeks later I rang them again and they asked me how I’d like to proceed. I was only 19 and had no idea. I ended up having an X-ray a few days later. They said it looked abnormal, but that it was nothing urgent and I’d have a CT after Christmas.”

Three days before Christmas Georgia was in A&E struggling to breathe and had another chest x-ray. “I got home from work and couldn’t breathe properly,” she added. I had a tingly feeling in my face, pins and needles, chest pain and I couldn’t get any air in. My mum took me to A&E.

“After waiting for hours and not being able to breathe enough to cough, I sat down with a nurse. He said it could be an infection, but it’s most likely cancer. I hadn’t even registered cancer as an option so I thought ‘that can’t be right’.

“I remember having tunnel vision, I couldn’t really hear anyone, and it was like my senses were gone. I just sat there thinking ‘this can’t be happening’.”

Georgia had another common sign of cancer, a lump on her neck around her collarbone. She said: “When I developed the cough, I did have a lump on my neck that I didn’t notice. Now when I look back at photos, I can see the lump from maybe two years before I was diagnosed. But because it was so small and grew so gradually, I didn’t ever say anything about it.

“Veins started to show across my chest which came on quite suddenly, just before I was diagnosed. When I met the consultant she said ‘that’s where you have a massive mass inside you, it’s pushing your blood vessels to the surface.’

“When we were looking directly at my veins wondering what was going on, we still didn’t notice the lump. That’s how easy it was for us to miss, even though it was huge. We took a photo of these veins and now I look back at this photo taken two days before I was diagnosed and I think ‘how did you not notice that?’.”

Teenage Cancer Trust research has found that just 17 per cent of 13 to 24-year-olds know all five of the main warning signs of cancer in young people, which are: lumps, bumps and swellings, unexplained tiredness, mole changes, persistent pain, unexplained weight change.

Georgia said: “You hear to check for lumps and bumps in your breasts, but you’re never told to check anywhere else like your neck or lymph nodes, so you wouldn’t. I’d also lost about 10 kilos from summer to that Christmas and again, didn’t notice.

“I feel like I’m partly to blame because I didn’t notice a lot of these things and I think my mum feels a bit of guilt about that too. But you never think it’s going to be cancer and the symptoms can be over a longer period of time than you think.”

Georgia was diagnosed with suspected Hodgkin lymphoma and had six cycles of chemotherapy and was given the all clear in May 2023. She went travelling following her remission and is now studying drama.

Georgia said: “This time last year after treatment I thought ‘what am I going to do?’. I didn’t go to uni after leaving school because I didn’t have any energy to do anything, uni life wasn’t really for me. And then when I was diagnosed it all made sense. I feel healthier now than I ever have.

“I think it’s so important that people of all ages are aware of the signs of cancer, but I hope my story reminds other young people that it can happen to anyone and to get checked out if you think something is wrong.”

Louise Soanes, Teenage Cancer Trust Chief Nurse, said: “It’s so important to know your own body to be able to spot any changes. Although cancer in young people is rare, it does happen, so it’s really important that young people know the most common signs.

“If you feel that something is wrong then speak to your GP. It might not be cancer but if you’re worried it’s important to get checked out and give the doctor as much information as possible.”

To find out more about signs of cancer, visit www.teenagecancertrust.org/signs