A young woman from Leicester has shared a devastating story of how her severe back pain was repeatedly dismissed by GPs, only for her to later discover she has a rare and incurable form of cancer.
‘Take paracetamol and do stretches’
Nothando Nhliziyo, aged 22, visited her GP four times from November 2024 onwards, complaining of debilitating pain that left her unable to sleep and forced her to crawl to the toilet. Each time, she was advised to take painkillers like ibuprofen or paracetamol and perform back stretches, despite experiencing rapid weight loss and hearing loud cracking noises from her spine.
"Initially I thought it might be my job as a hairstylist making my back hurt because I’d stand for long hours," Nothando told The Sun. "When the GPs would send me away... it made me think, ‘If they don’t take it seriously then why should I take it seriously?’"
The desperate lie that led to a scan
As the pain became "out-of-this-world" and chronic, Nothando made appointments every two weeks hoping to see a different doctor. After a particularly bad episode, she went to A&E, where staff questioned her attendance for back pain. In a desperate bid to be taken seriously, she falsely claimed she had fallen down the stairs to avoid being sent away again.
This act led medics to finally scan her back. The results were shocking: they found cancerous lesions spread across her spine, pelvis, and left adrenal gland. She was immediately admitted for further investigation.
A rare and devastating diagnosis
At the end of January, Nothando received the news she had cancer of "unknown primary" – where the disease has spread but the origin is not found. In April, a specific diagnosis followed: stage four angiosarcoma. This is one of the rarest cancers in the UK, with only around 64 cases diagnosed annually in England, accounting for just 0.05% of all cancers.
Angiosarcoma is a form of sarcoma that starts in the bones and soft tissues. In Nothando's case, it is both rare and incurable. "When I heard it was cancer, I just wanted the ground to swallow me up," she recalled. "The room just was full of wailing. It was the craziest moment of my life."
Fighting for treatment and a future
Due to the cancer's location on her spine, doctors said options were limited. She has undergone chemotherapy to try to prevent further spread and is on palliative care for pain management. Nothando expressed frustration, feeling that hope was withdrawn too quickly. "They were already giving me the impression that they had given up on me," she said.
She is now facing discussions about hospice care, a reality she believes could have been avoided with earlier intervention. "I could have been at stage one and treated earlier," she stated.
Nothando is now urging everyone to trust their instincts and persistently seek answers for unusual symptoms. She has also started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for potential treatment options, including those that may be available abroad.
