A 21-year-old Aussie man thought he was dealing with a stubborn chest infection, dismissing symptoms that didn’t seem serious at the time – until doctors discovered he had stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer.
Looking back, 21-year-old Jay Shew said he realizes how easily the earliest warning signs of cancer slipped into the background of everyday life.
“Most guys, we don’t get checked out. We get a symptom; we just brush it off. That’s what happened to me in August 2023,” Shew explained in a TikTok video documenting his experience.
High calcium levels
At the time, the Australian man said everything felt completely normal, and when he went for what he described as a “random blood test,” nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
“I didn’t have any symptoms at the time, I was just normal, living every day,” he said.
But the test revealed high calcium levels, a result that can sometimes signal underlying disease activity in the body.
“I didn’t know that,” Shew said, explaining he later understood the elevated levels meant his bones were “fighting off a disease.”
Looked ‘like a ghost
Over the following weeks, the 6-foot-2 man dropped down to about 154 pounds, a physical change that he explained drew increasing concern from those around him.
“I start to drop a lot of weight and I legit like go white. I was so pale. I didn’t notice. I didn’t realize,” he said, adding that loved ones kept saying that he was “so skinny” and looked “like a ghost.”
Despite repeated comments from loved ones, he said the changes were difficult to see in himself: “I looked in the mirror and I was like: ‘I’m fine? I don’t look skinny; I don’t look pale.’ I couldn’t see it.”
At one point, someone even asked whether he was a “cancer patient,” something he said he could not yet imagine.
Early symptoms
As the weeks went on, the symptoms were no longer subtle.
“I’d wake up in the middle of the night or in the morning and it felt like my lower back was breaking,” he recalled. “It was that bad.”
Sleep offered little relief. Night after night, he found himself waking up drenched, unsure at first what was happening.
“So, I’d wake up in the middle of the night and I’d be sweating. One morning, I woke up and I thought I p**sed the bed – that’s how bad it was,” he said in the clip. “I looked at my shirt and I was like: ‘This is sweat?’”
Even during the day, his energy seemed to disappear without explanation, leaving him “very, very tired.”
“I could not move. I’d wake up and a couple hours later I’d be back in bed having a nap,” he said.
Alongside the exhaustion came other changes that were harder to define at first, including dry skin, persistent itchiness and chest discomfort that did not seem connected but continued to build over time.
“Keep in mind that since I got the blood test, up until now, I’m having every single cancer symptom. I just didn’t realize it,” he explained.
Symptoms ‘came back worse’
Eventually, the pain in his chest became impossible to ignore, and as his voice changed and he coughed up phlegm, Shew suspected “bronchitis” or a “chest infection.”
But he was wrong. After a round of antibiotics, he “got sick again” and the symptoms “came back worse this time.”
With his condition continuing to worsen, he was sent for a CT scan and doctors were doctors were finally able to identify the cause – stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma
According to the Mayo Clinic, Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer that affects the lymphatic system, a key part of the body’s immune defenses. This cancer – also known as Hodgkin disease – develops when certain white blood cells grow out of control, allowing the cancer to spread beyond the lymphatic system if left untreated.
While Hodgkin lymphoma is often considered highly treatable, symptoms can easily be mistaken for common illnesses, which can delay diagnosis.
Common symptoms may include:
- Swollen lymph nodes
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Night sweats
- Unexplained weight loss
- Itchy skin
‘Don’t be like me’
After around three months of treatment, Shew shared an update with followers, revealing that he is now in remission, while also reflecting on how quickly his life changed.
“At the end of the day, cancer’s cancer. And you don’t want to have it right,” he said.
He also urged others not to delay seeking medical advice when something feels unusual.
“Don’t be like me and leave it to the last minute to go to the doctors. All it takes is one blood test,” he said in another TikTok clip that he titled “Five cancer symptoms I ignored.”
“You might not suffer from the cancer but people around you definitely do and that’s what hurts the most.”
Although he still wonders what may have contributed to his diagnosis, he says his focus now is on moving forward.
“I was a regular smoker, and my diet was not the best, to this day. I wish I knew what caused me to get it. But I guess we can only move forward.”
Jay hopes his experience will encourage others to pay attention to early warning signs. Share this article and help him spread awareness!
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