22-Year-Old Diagnosed with Terminal Cancer After Docs Dismiss Symptoms

A young woman was dismissed by doctors multiple times before being diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Now, they’re telling her there’s nothing they can do to treat her.

Nothando Nhliziyo — a 22-year-old hairstylist from Leicester, England — spoke to The Sun about starting to experience episodes of severe back pain in November 2024. She visited a chiropractor and went to see a doctor, but was told there was nothing to worry about.

“Initially I thought it might be my job as a hairstylist making my back hurt because I’d stand for long hours,” she told the outlet. “I never thought that it would be something so serious.”

“When the GPs would send me away and say, ‘Take some ibuprofen, take paracetamol, do these stretches’, it made me think, ‘If they don’t take it seriously then why should I take it seriously?’”

However, when the episodes became more severe, Nhliziyo scheduled doctor’s appointments every two weeks, hoping that she would be seen by a different doctor who would take her concerns seriously.

“The pain was chronic and debilitating,” she explained. “I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t even turn over, I couldn’t get out of bed. I’d crawl to the bathroom. My back would make crunching noises, I’d have spasms and my whole body would stiffen up. It was just out-of-this-world pain.”

It wasn’t until January 2025, after her worst episode, that Nhliziyo decided enough was enough. When she went back to the accident and emergency (A&E) department, she recalled a staff member asking her, “Why would you come to A&E for back pain?” 

At that point, Nhliziyo had been dismissed four times already. Feeling desperate and worried she’d be sent home once again, she decided to tell a small lie, hoping to receive better care. She told medical staff that she fell down the stairs, which ultimately led to doctors agreeing to run tests on her.

Shortly after, Nhliziyo’s scans revealed that she had lesions spread across her spine, pelvis and left adrenal gland. She was told it was cancer, but doctors were unsure of its origin and needed to do more testing.

“When I heard it was cancer, I just wanted the ground to swallow me up,” she recalled. “I just wanted to vanish. Both my parents burst out in tears. I didn’t know what to say at all. The room just was full of wailing. It was the craziest moment of my life. It was so traumatic.”

Three months later, after several scans, a biopsy and surgery to remove her left adrenal gland, she received an official diagnosis.

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In April 2025, Nhliziyo was diagnosed with stage 4 angiosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer that develops in the inner lining of the blood vessels or lymph vessels. According to the Cleveland Clinic, once the disease has spread it is very difficult to treat, with a low five-year survival rate of about 35%.

“I remember the doctors saying the cancer was stage four, metastatic, rare and incurable,” she she told the outlet. “I was so numb to hearing bad news that I didn’t cry. I just sat there and my face stayed the same all throughout the appointment. I didn’t know how to react.”

Nhliziyo explained that because of the disease’s location in her spine, doctors ultimately said there wasn’t much they could do to treat her.

“They didn’t give me any hope,” she said. “They started me on palliative care and I thought, ‘Are they not going to at least give me some options?’”

“They did offer me some radiotherapy and chemo, and I had a lot of medication for pain management,” she added. “But by the time they told me what it was, they were already giving me the impression that they had given up on me.”

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Nhliziyo has since created a GoFundMe account to assist with palliative care. She’s now sharing her journey to raise awareness for angiosarcoma and encourage others to be strong advocates for their health.

“Life has drastically changed in so many ways, physically, mentally and emotionally. From being a normal 22-year-old enjoying life running my own business as a hairstylist, going out with friends and traveling to having stage 4 rare cancer,” she wrote on the fundraiser. “Never in my wildest dreams would I ever have expected this.” 

“My experience has unfortunately taught me that if you have to exaggerate, and if you have to lie, do it,” she told The Sun. “I’ve seen so many cases where GPs and doctors don’t take people seriously until it’s too late, until they’re in their coffin. Look at me now. I’m at stage four and people are talking to me about hospice care, when I could have been at stage one, I could’ve been treated earlier.”

“It’s never a waste of the GP’s time,” she added. “No matter what, do not downplay your own health, your symptoms, or how you feel.”