{"id":510738,"date":"2026-03-08T07:33:37","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T07:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/510738\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T07:33:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T07:33:37","slug":"22-year-old-diagnosed-with-cancer-after-symptoms-were-dismissed-as-pulled-muscle-i-knew-something-wasnt-right-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/510738\/","title":{"rendered":"22-Year-Old Diagnosed with Cancer After Symptoms Were Dismissed as \u2018Pulled Muscle\u2019: \u2018I Knew Something Wasn\u2019t Right\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Emma<\/p>\n

Emma Herring
Credit: Emma Herring \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n

Emma Herring, 22, was misdiagnosed multiple times before learning she had stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma<\/p>\n

Her aggressive cancer required immediate chemotherapy, leaving her unable to freeze her eggs or prepare for hair loss<\/p>\n

Herring shares her journey to encourage others to trust their instincts and seek second opinions if dismissed<\/p>\n

A young woman was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer after her symptoms were initially dismissed as a \u201cpulled muscle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emma Herring \u2014 22-year-old optical assistant from Durham, England \u2014 started experiencing chest pains in April 2025. She \u201cknew something wasn\u2019t right\u201d so she made an appointment with her general practitioner. However, a nurse practitioner told her the pain was likely due to \u201canxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n

In May, her symptoms hadn\u2019t improved so she went to the emergency room for an electrocardiogram (ECG) and saw another general practitioner.<\/p>\n

“No ECG was done and he told me it was likely I had pulled a muscle while having a panic attack,\u201d she told Southwest News Service, via the Mirror<\/a>. \u201cI have a history of anxiety, but I hadn’t even mentioned having a panic attack, so I don’t know where that came from.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn August I had an X-ray and they could see a mass, but (they) prescribed me antibiotics for suspected pneumonia as they discounted cancer due to my age,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\"Emma<\/p>\n

Emma Herring
Credit: Emma Herring \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Herring\u2019s condition was still concerning in the weeks after. So in early November, she was finally referred to the University Hospital of North Durham for another X-ray and a CT scan. The following morning, she received a devastating phone call telling her that she was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.<\/p>\n

Doctors informed her that she had a 7-centimeter tumor in her chest and a 4-centimeter tumor in her neck. Additionally, the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.<\/p>\n

“It wasn’t done in a consultation room with doctors, nurses or with any other support \u2014 just over the phone,\u201d she recalled. \u201cWe went to hospital and that is when we were told it was stage 4 cancer, the most advanced stage you can get, and I didn’t believe it. It was and still is the scariest thing I have ever gone through in my life.”<\/p>\n

\"Emma<\/p>\n

Emma Herring in the hospital
Credit: Emma Herring \/ SWNS<\/p>\n

Due to the aggressive nature of her cancer, Herring started chemotherapy immediately. She admitted it was heartbreaking to lose her hair three weeks into treatment, and even more difficult not being able to freeze her eggs beforehand.<\/p>\n

“My hair was my identity and I wasn’t prepared for how quickly it happened. I also didn’t have a chance to freeze my eggs and there’s a chance I could end up infertile,\u201d she said. “Because of the aggressiveness of my cancer, we just had to go straight into chemo, so they didn’t have time to do that for me. It is upsetting thinking I may not be able to have children or may get an early menopause too.\u201d<\/p>\n

“The whole experience has really affected me mentally, but also physically as well. I have to sometimes get my mum to help me out of the shower and I am 22,\u201d she continued. “I just never ever expected to get cancer, especially not at this age. I was finally getting to a happy place in my life, got my own flat, and now it has all gone away from me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Emma<\/p>\n

Emma Herring during chemotherapy
Credit: Emma Herring\/SWNS<\/p>\n

Herring said her \u201clife is on hold\u201d and she\u2019s barely been able to leave the hospital due to complications. She was originally supposed to undergo four rounds of chemotherapy, but doctors said she now requires six rounds. She is currently in the middle of her fifth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always been relatively healthy, apart from the odd cold, I haven’t been ill like this before \u2014 it is just absolutely crazy,\u201d she told the outlet. “It is just frustrating because I knew something was up, all the signs were there. But because of my age, we just didn’t think it would be as bad as it is and so progressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Emma<\/p>\n

Emma Herring in the hospital
Credit: Emma Herring\/SWNS<\/p>\n

Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Herring said she\u2019s trying to remain positive about her future. She\u2019s now sharing her journey in hopes of encouraging other women to trust their gut and seek a second opinion if they feel like they\u2019re being dismissed.<\/p>\n

“I just want others to be aware of the symptoms, to seek a second opinion if things don’t feel right, don’t be afraid to bug them, like I did. People need to listen to their bodies,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

“I just take each day as it comes \u2014 you have good days and bad days and try to even approach the bad days with positivity,\u201d she added. \u201cI have realised worrying or being scared or sad will not change anything and I’m just being positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the original article on People<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Emma HerringCredit: Emma Herring \/ SWNS NEED TO KNOW Emma Herring, 22, was misdiagnosed multiple times before learning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":500072,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[228150,53785,228148,97,228149],"class_list":["post-510738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-aggressive-cancer","tag-blood-cancer","tag-emma-herring","tag-health","tag-stage-4"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/500072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}