A dad has told of his devastation at being given just days to live, after his blood cancer symptoms were misdiagnosed as a sinus infection.
Nathan Bingham first had an idea something may be wrong when he developed pressure in both his head and face and colleagues pointed out that his face had swollen.
The 29-year-old from County Down, Belfast, said he had begun to feel light-headed every time he tried to lift something heavy, which was a daily task as part of his job.
Upon visiting a GP, Nathan was told he was "too young for cancer", he claims, and was given other medications for a range of different medical problems.
Speaking to Belfast Live , Nathan said he was worried at this point and contacted his GP who tried to diagnose him over the phone and left him a steroid nasal spray for what the doctor believed was chronic sinusitis.
“This did not work at all,” Nathan said.
"About a week after using the nasal spray I then noticed that my breathing, drinking and swallowing were not normal at all. This symptom started in late October time and I was having trouble eating solids and even drinking water,” he said.
"Food would get stuck in my windpipe and water made a strange gurgling noise as I drank. I became very worried again and I contacted my GP and begged for a face to face as I knew something wasn't quite right.
"I explained everything that had been going on and the GP said that it sounded like acid reflux and it had damaged my windpipe. I was prescribed an antibiotic and an antacid tablet and also got my bloods checked.
"The tablets made me feel even worse, and to top it off when my bloods came back the results were, 'you have a small bit of inflammation, probably due to the sinusitis'.
"I was not happy at this point but I trusted my GP and I wasn't one to second guess a medical professional. From here my jaw was pushed out of alignment and I started to bite the inside of my face, the swelling was very bad."
In November, Nathan says his symptoms became worse, causing him to periodically vomit and even faint.
After one episode, which saw him hitting his head and sustaining a black eye and concussion, his pregnant fiancee brought him to hospital.
Eight hours later, Nathan was told he had a blood clot close to his heart. After a scan and a number of tests, he was diagnosed with Lymphoma.
"That week in the hospital I could not breath, eat or drink, I was in a critical condition given only days to live if they didn't start emergency chemotherapy," Nathan added.
"Thankfully my body handled the chemo very well and I slowly recovered. I found out shortly after I was stable that I had three masses in my body - a 12.5cm mass in my chest, a 8cm mass in my lung and a small 4cm mass in my pancreas.
"My consultant in ward 6A in the Ulster Hospital told me that Lymphoma is actually very common in my age group and I had, in his words, 'all the classical symptoms of lymphoma, how did you survive this long?'
"Dr El Agnaf at the Macmillan Ward in the Ulster Hospital saved my life and was on the ball the whole time.
"After a long 12-week chemotherapy treatment followed quickly by three weeks of radiotherapy I am in remission and thankful for the wealth of knowledge at the Ulster Hospital able to save my life.
“Today I feel good, I almost feel normal again.
"On Saturday May 21, I begin back to work in Bangor with a tiling company called Tiles Direct. My boss Aaron has been a superstar during this, allowing me to keep my job and he helped me through this whole ordeal."
In a plea to the public, especially those in the younger age category, Nathan urged everyone to listen to their bodies and to always get a second opinion if they suspected something was wrong.
"Cancer is real and not just for the elderly," he added.
"If your symptoms are anything like mine, facial swelling, lymph node swollen, they are under your jaw, armpits and in the groin area, night sweats and trouble eating/drinking, if they stop you functioning normally take yourself to a hospital.
"I felt silly going to the hospital because I believed I had a bug that day, that's why I was vomiting."
