‘Embarrassing’ cancer symptom kept teen from speaking up for months
Teenager with rare cancer underwent early menopause
- Ellie Waters-Barnes, 24, was diagnosed with Stage Four Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer, at 14 in 2015 after delaying reporting a lump for seven months.
- Intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy to her pelvic area caused early menopause and infertility, also halting her pubescent development.
- She experienced feelings of being "unwomanly" and "alien" compared to her peers, struggling with body image and self-worth due to her arrested physical development and infertility.
- After initially struggling with NHS care, she sought a private consultation for effective hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to manage her symptoms.
- Now studying medicine to become an oncology doctor, Ms Waters-Barnes advocates for greater awareness and open discussion around the "taboo topic" of early menopause, using her personal experience to help others.