‘I had dizzy spells in the gym but thought nothing of it – but it was cancer’

A young woman nearly died of cancer after mistaking her dizzy spells at the gym as a need to train harder.

Taylor Davis, 26, believed her worrying symptoms were her body’s way of telling her she should work out more.

The restaurant manager’s condition worsened and she stopped breathing as she was diagnosed with stage four lymphoma, the Daily Express US reports.

Taylor, of San Diego, US, said a five-inch tumour blocking the arteries into her lungs was discovered and she had to be put on chemotherapy immediately.

She said she first noticed a sudden drop in her weight last September, followed by frequent dizzy spells and headaches when working out or bending over.

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Taylor also suffered “extreme” facial swelling and only sought medical advice after becoming too scared to go to the gym for fear of “blacking out”.

Three months later she was diagnosed with cancer and has now told of her ordeal to help others. Taylor said: “I felt like my life was ending, and, in a way, it was.

“Everything I thought I knew about my body and all my life plans were taken away at that moment.

“Being told I had cancer at 26 after I had done everything I had been taught to do to prevent it, was traumatic. I was told in one night [my diagnosis] and that I needed to begin chemotherapy right away or I would die.”

She described how she first made it a challenge to get over her dizzy spells by training harder at the gym.

But she was soon unable to lift boxes or trays at work and started waking up “drenched” from night sweats.

By December, she had developed a persistent wet cough and panicked when she woke up with her face swollen and light bruising on her chest and arms.

Taylor claimed medics believed she had a torn shoulder muscle before X-ray and MRI tests confirmed she had a tumour caused by lymphoma.

She said: “My cough turned into a constant fluid in my lungs and I struggled to do any physical activity without being short of breath. I had a biopsy the next day, but while awaiting the results, my cough had become so severe that I could no longer breathe.

“Then, I was told that I had pneumonia and superior vena cava syndrome, an obstruction of blood flow, due to cancer, which wasn’t getting to my brain and it can be deadly.

“I had seen the effects of cancer and chemotherapy in movies and the thought of going through things like losing my hair terrified me. All of this happened so fast – one day, I didn’t know anything and then suddenly, my life was in danger.”

Taylor underwent a gruelling six rounds of five-day infusions of chemotherapy every two-and-a-half weeks.

She is currently “cold capping”, a form of wearing cold ice packs on the head, to help reduce the treatment’s resulting hair loss.

She said: “I just want anyone else going through an experience like this to know that it doesn’t feel fair, but it is not the end of the road.

“There are many amazing things in life that are still coming your way and it’s so important to remain positive. Prayer and practising gratitude have helped me so much during this journey.”

Taylor is undergoing monthly checkups to ensure her cancer remains in remission.

She added: “It has taken a toll on me, one of the worst parts was losing my hair, as it was so important to me and a huge piece of how I presented myself to the world. But, I am committed to remaining positive and grateful throughout this journey.

“I am using it as a learning experience and educating myself on how to live a life aware of what I am putting in and on my body.”