Uni student Maddie, 19, felt something unusual on her neck - then a quick Google search led to the unthinkable

Daily Mail​

31-05-2025

Maddie King was a healthy 19-year-old university student preparing for the adventure of a lifetime: a semester abroad in Los Angeles.
When she began noticing hard lumps in her neck, she had no idea her body was quietly battling a rare form of cancer that had gone undetected for years.
Her whole world turned upside when she was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin's lymphoma, the most advanced form of blood cancer.
'By the time they found it, it was all through my neck and chest, including a 9cm tumour in my lungs,' Maddie, now 25, told FEMAIL.
It started with a cough, some mild night sweats, and the discovery of a few mysterious lumps - symptoms that, on their own, didn't seem urgent.
'I didn't have any idea anything was wrong until about three months before my diagnosis. I'd never noticed the lumps before, but they must have been growing for years,' she said.
At first, her doctors in Sydney were unsure because scans and biopsies came back inconclusive.
She was prescribed antibiotics for what they suspected was pneumonia, but Maddie had a nagging feeling that something wasn't right.
'I was Googling everything. And eventually, it all started pointing to cancer. I was hoping it was something else - tuberculosis, a lung infection - anything but that,' she said.
She left for the US with a suitcase full of medical records and a sense of unease.
It was the university doctor in LA who finally urged her to take urgent action: 'You need to fly home and get an excision biopsy.'
She returned to Sydney in October 2019. Days later, she had a formal diagnosis.
'The diagnosis actually came as a relief,' Maddie admitted.
'After months of not knowing, I could finally make a plan.'
But there was no time to process what was happening - almost immediately, she was thrown into a whirlwind of appointments with haematologists, oncologists and even fertility specialists.
'They talked about fertility on the day of diagnosis. Within a week, I was doing IVF injections to preserve some eggs before chemo,' she said.
The treatment was brutal : six rounds of intense chemotherapy, followed by a month of radiation.
For months, her life was consumed by blood tests, back-to-back medication schedules, isolation, and relentless cycles of pain.
'Chemo completely rips away any sense of normality. You can't plan your day. You can't see friends. You're immunocompromised. I was wearing masks before COVID was even a thing,' she said.
Her academic life paused - she took a year off from university. Her social life dwindled. She was often too exhausted to leave the house, let alone think about being 19 and carefree.
'It's a very lonely and disorienting time. Everything changes overnight,' she said.
Maddie's journey wasn't just a physical battle, it was an emotional and psychological one, too.
At an age when most of her peers were starting internships, going on holidays, or dating freely, she was navigating oncology wards and hormone injections.
She remembers trying to distract herself in those early days, trying not to fall apart.
'It was messy. I didn't have the tools back then to process it. I just tried to keep going.'
She leaned heavily on her then-boyfriend and her mother, who stayed by her side through the testing, treatment and uncertainty.
Maddie's story is made even more heartbreaking by a devastating family history.
At 16, she lost her father to pancreatic cancer - a diagnosis that left little time for treatment.
'He was diagnosed and passed away within a month. He didn't even have chemo, it was just about managing the pain. Our experiences couldn't have been more different,' she recalled.
When she got her own diagnosis just three years later, it stirred up complicated emotions.
'It was confusing. Part of me was relieved he didn't have to watch me go through it. No parent should have to see their child go through chemo. But part of me wished he was there - I think he would've been proud,' she said.
In March 2025, Maddie celebrated a milestone many cancer survivors dream of: five years in remission.
'I went to Vietnam with my partner to celebrate. It was beautiful,' she said.
She no longer needs regular scans, but she remains vigilant with GP check-ups and bloodwork.
Chronic health issues still linger, a reminder that the battle didn't end when the treatment did.
But she's learning to live alongside them with grace, strength and gratitude.
Looking back, she says her journey taught her a painful but profound truth: No one is too young. No one is too healthy. Cancer doesn't care.
But neither, she adds, should we underestimate the power of small acts of care such as a Facebook message, a meal, or a $10 donation, to help someone who is fighting for their life.
Maddie revealed that it was a community of strangers - young women going through similar diagnoses - who helped her feel less alone.
'During the whirlwind of medical appointments, I found Rikki and Cancer Chicks,' Maddie says, referring to founder Rikki Stern, who launched the community to support young women with cancer after being diagnosed with Stage 2B Hodgkin's Lymphoma at 19.
'I just found her on social media. She invited me to join the Facebook group. When I introduced myself and shared my story, the outpouring of support was unbelievable.'
From questions about side effects to decoding confusing scan results, Cancer Chicks became a lifeline, offering real-time advice, empathy, and hope.
'I was in chemo when I went to their first retreat. I didn't have eyebrows, and they ran a workshop on how to draw them on. It sounds small, but it made me feel human again.'
The community gave Maddie a glimpse into the future - a future where women like her survived, healed, and rebuilt their lives.
'We're a small subset of the population - young women with cancer - but Cancer Chicks makes you feel seen. That someone cares. That you're not forgotten.'
Now healthy and working in marketing at a Sydney startup called Magic Brief, Maddie is passionate about giving back.
By sharing her story, she hopes to raise awareness for young Aussies going through cancer and highlight the power of female-driven support networks like Cancer Chicks - the community that helped her through her darkest days.
She's especially excited about a new partnership between Cancer Chicks and Afterpay, which allows people to donate in instalments, making generosity more accessible in the current cost-of-living crisis.
'People always ask me where they can donate, but they think they need to give $100 or $500 to make an impact. That's just not true,' she explained.
Some of the most meaningful gestures Maddie received during treatment weren't grand - they were practical.
'Ready meals, a $15 UberEats voucher, little things like that completely changed my day,' she said.
With the Afterpay model, donors can contribute manageable amounts over time - helping charities like Cancer Chicks fund retreats, events, and workshops that provide direct, tangible support.