'I thought my cold symptoms were just freshers' flu but it was actually cancer'
Ezzy Pearson, 37, was beginning her first year at university when she developed what she assumed was a cold - it was much more serious
Ezzy Pearson believed her cancer symptoms were all due to Fresher's flu
(Image: Cancer Research UK/ SWNS )
When Ezzy Pearson started university, she put her cold symptoms down to "Freshers' flu", a common illness that many new students experience. However, what began as a runny nose, exhaustion and a persistent cough turned out to be a type of cancer called Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Ezzy was 18 at the time of her diagnosis and determined not to let it get in the way of her studies. She sat all of her first-year university exams despite undergoing six months of chemotherapy, including one exam just hours after a treatment session.
Nearly 20 years on and now cancer-free, Ezzy, 37, is taking part in the Race for Life in memory of her mum, Jo, who died from lung cancer at 64. She wants to help fund the research that gave her a future.
She said: "On the Wednesday of Freshers' Week, I noticed a lump on the side of my neck and just felt really rubbish. I was constantly carrying around a box of tissues and assumed it was just Freshers' Flu. But when it hadn't cleared up after a month, I went to the GP."
After several blood tests, she was referred to an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) specialist. Following a biopsy on her neck lump, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer emanating from the lymphatic system, an area critical for immune defence.
Despite enduring six months of chemotherapy, Ezzy - now Commissions Editor at BBC Science Focus magazine - managed to complete all her first-year university exams, one just hours post-chemotherapy. Ezzy said: "If I'd been born 30 years earlier, that diagnosis could have been a death sentence. But thanks to advances in research - much of it funded by organisations like Cancer Research UK - I had access to treatment that saved my life."
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Ezzy is now going to take part in Race for Life. Ezzy said: "I was devastated when my mum died. She was a smoker, and I know there's a lot of stigma around lung cancer because of that - but it's more complex than people realise. Everyone deserves compassion and support, no matter how their illness came about.
"My mum was a Scout leader and incredibly creative - I definitely take after her in my writing and creative work." Ezzy lives with her partner, Sam. They became an item soon after her mother passed away.
Race for Life event in Bristol
Even though Jo and Sam never met, Ezzy has found a heartfelt way to bridge the gap between them. Wearing her late mother's engagement ring as a poignant reminder, Ezzy will officially start this year's Cancer Research UK Race for Life in Bristol.
Ezzy said: "After my mum passed, I started wearing her engagement ring on my right hand. When Sam and I signed our mortgage together, I moved it to my left. "It was my way of letting her know I planned on keeping him, even if I couldn't tell her in person."
On Sunday, June 22, Ezzy will sound the starting horn for nearly 2,000 participants who will take on the 5k and 10k routes at The Downs, Stoke Road, in Cancer Research UK's flagship fundraiser in Bristol. Ezzy added: "I'm so excited and honoured to be starting Race for Life Bristol. It's a powerful reminder of how far we've come in cancer research - and how much more we can achieve together."
She encouraged others to participate, noting, "Race for Life is just a great experience. It's not about being the fastest or the best. It doesn't matter if you run, walk or hop like a bunny - it's about coming together and doing something fantastic for a great cause."
The event is part of a weekend of fundraising efforts, including the Pretty Muddy and Pretty Muddy Kids obstacle courses on Saturday, June 21. Annually, approximately 37,300 people are diagnosed with cancer in the south west. Race for Life, partnered with Standard Life (part of Phoenix Group) as headline sponsor, is a nationwide series of 3k, 5k, 10k, Pretty Muddy, and Pretty Muddy Kids events.
This series raises millions each year to support life-saving cancer research efforts. Ruth Amies, Cancer Research UK's spokesperson for the south west, expressed her gratitude: "We're incredibly grateful to Ezzy for being our VIP starter at Race for Life Bristol."
She highlighted the vital cause, saying, "No matter how cancer affects us, life is worth racing for. Sadly nearly 1 in 2 of us will get cancer in our lifetime but all of us can support the research that will beat it."
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Stressing the event's success and significance, she said: "We're proud that Race for Life has had such a positive impact. Every pound raised supports our life-saving work, which has helped double cancer survival in the UK over the last 50 years." She added: "Our events are strictly non-competitive which means everyone can have a go- and love every minute. There's no pressure to finish in a certain time, just give it what you can. Lace up and join in.
"Whether people are living with cancer, taking part in honour of or in memory of a loved one with cancer, in it for the medals or just for the fun of fundraising, there is a place for everyone."
Since its founding in 1994, Race for Life has seen more than 10 million participants, raising millions of pounds for critical research.
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Daily Mail
3 hours ago
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The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Osteopath treating woman who refused chemo advised medical help, inquest hears
An osteopath who treated a young woman who refused cancer treatment knew he 'was not the right person to be helping her' and was 'horrified' to hear of her death, an inquest heard. Cambridge graduate Paloma Shemirani, 23, died at Royal Sussex County Hospital on July 24 2024, after declining the treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Her mother, Kay 'Kate' Shemirani, who rose to prominence on social media while sharing Covid-19 conspiracy theories, was involved in her daughter's alternative 'treatment programme'. On Wednesday, osteopath Nick Gosset who saw Paloma on July 19 2024, the day that she collapsed and was taken to hospital by air ambulance, advised her to seek further medical support, the inquest at Kent and Medway Coroner's Court, in Maidstone, Kent heard. He said that when he inspected her he could feel lumps in her right shoulder going all the way up into her neck, which he identified as lymphoid mass and that he 'had never seen anything like it' in 43 years of practice. Mr Gosset told the court: 'It was obvious to me that I was not the right person to be helping her, normally you see a patient like that you would refer her (to a GP). 'Any referral was refused – when I suggested that the proper avenue of approach was through a normal medical channel she dismissed it. 'I felt I was presented with a young woman – and I'm not an expert in this, my field is biomechanics – a young lady who was in the last stages of a very difficult disease, and she had declined to engage with conventional treatment.' He added that he felt 'aggrieved' that he had been put in that professional position. 'I was left with no good choices and the only choice I felt I had at the time was to offer her the opportunity to return where I might be able to persuade her of the importance of seeking further medical support,' said Mr Gosset. Arunodaya Mohan, a consultant haematologist at Maidstone Hospital, told Paloma in 2023 that she had an 80% chance of recovery if she had chemotherapy, the inquest heard previously. Ms Shemirani told the court that she did not believe the osteopath had that conversation with her daughter, as they were 'very close' and Paloma did not tell her after the session. When asked how he felt when he was told of Paloma's death he said: 'I think I was horrified,' before clarifying that he was surprised by the rapidity but not by her death. 'I was well aware that she was extremely ill … I did not feel that she needed immediate medical support,' said Mr Gosset. Yesterday, Paloma's GP told the court that conditions were in place that if Paloma felt any change in her condition, including shortness of breath, she would seek conventional medical attention. Mr Gosset told the coroner that Ms Shemirani was exhibiting those symptoms on the day he saw her. He said: 'May I observe that in the evidence of the GP yesterday that there was a clear understanding made that should Paloma's situation deteriorate and that included any shortness of breath that there would be an immediate response to call the emergency services or present to A&E.' He added that 'she came to me with just such a change in situation' and told Ms Shemirani: 'I have to say that I am deeply aggrieved that you should put me in that professional position.' The inquest continues.
