Overview
- Ellie Waters-Barnes first found a kidney bean-sized lump in January 2015 and waited about seven months to tell her parents, leading to a Stage Four rhabdomyosarcoma diagnosis that September after initial GP treatment for an abscess failed.
- She underwent roughly 18 months of therapy, including nine months of intensive chemotherapy and pelvic radiotherapy; scans showed no visible tumour within four months and surgery was avoided, followed by maintenance treatment.
- Because treatment targeted her pelvis, puberty halted and doctors later confirmed treatment-induced menopause and infertility when her periods did not return.
- During sixth-form studies she experienced brain fog, fatigue and vaginal dryness, and after unsatisfactory NHS hormone care she paid £250 for a private menopause consultation in April 2020 that led to HRT relief within two weeks.
- Now in remission, the Stoke-on-Trent student has been studying medicine at Keele University since 2021 with plans to specialise in oncology, as Macmillan Cancer Support reiterates specialist help for treatment-induced menopause.