Beth Harris had a persistent cough
A 24-year-old woman initially thought she had a nasty chest infection, only to find out her persistent cough was a symptom of blood cancer. Beth Harris was diagnosed with stage two B-cell lymphoma on March 4, 2025.
Her mother Debbie Harris, 60, and her 26-year-old partner Lewis Talbot had urged her to see a doctor after the cough lingered for nearly a month. With hopes that her cough would subside, Beth sought medical advice, and her GP prescribed two courses of antibiotics, which unfortunately had no effect.
Further tests, including an X-ray and CT scan, were hastily arranged, and despite being told to expect results in two weeks, Beth received a call just days later breaking the devastating news of her cancer diagnosis. She is currently undergoing intense chemotherapy, with plans to transition to oral medication, aiming for remission by October.
Beth, a conveyancer from Cannock, Staffordshire, said: “It was a lot to be told I had a chest infection to, suddenly, cancer. They said the minute they took a look at my results, they saw that I hit every single marker for cancer.”
Beth instinctively feared cancer when urgently called back for her results. Reflecting on her feelings, she shared: “You know your own body and I had a feeling when they asked me to come in and my mind instantly went to cancer. She said if I had left the cough, I would have been dead by Christmas.”
The traumatic moment of diagnosis profoundly impacted Beth. She said: “I remember her saying ‘you’ve got lymphoma’ and I burst into tears and zoned out.
“Instantly thinking ‘I’m going to die and my mum’s going to have to plan my funeral’. To begin with, I disassociated from it when you heard the word cancer, but now I’ve accepted it.
“I can’t do anything to change anything – it’s about breaking down the treatment into smaller periods of time. So overall I am apprehensive but when you break it down, it doesn’t seem as big and scary.”
Beth was initially told she would be having a six-month course of chemotherapy, but because of fluid around her heart, a decision was made to change it. B-cell lymphoma means abnormal white blood cells have multiplied to form tumours.
Beth said: “I’ve got lumps in my neck and chest and one main tumour blocking the entrance to my heart and left lung. They first said six months of chemotherapy every two weeks, but because of the fluid around my heart, they changed it to every other week for three months.
“The fluid has been caused by what they thought was the chest infection. If after that all is well, they’ll drop the hospital side of it, and then I’ll take tablets for another three months.
“They hope I’m in remission by October. If you don’t feel well, get yourselves checked out. I was one of those people thinking it was just going to go, and I would be dead by Christmas if I didn’t finally go.
“I’m lucky that I’ve got a really good GP. It’s scary to think at 24, my mum would have been planning my funeral in the New Year – that’s hard.”
