‘Devastating’: Fit 29-Year-Old Suddenly Became Very Tired. It Was Stage 4 Cancer.

Ashton told the U.K.-based news outlet The Liverpool ECHO that Hughes is the last person anyone would have expected to be diagnosed with cancer.

“She was at the gym every day, healthy eating, she is the last person you’d expect it to happen to,” Ashton said.

Hughes also found lumps in her neck and when to the doctor to get them checked out. Several blood tests, biopsies, CT, and PET scans confirmed the lumps were attributed to cancer.

She was diagnosed with stage 4 follicular lymphoma this past March. This type of cancer is a form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that grows slowly. It appears in your lymph nodes, bone marrow, and other organs, the Cleveland Clinic describes.

Doctors also revealed the cancer had metastasized or spread to Hughes’ bones and is “working its way through her vital organs,” the news outlet said.

Since her diagnosis earlier this spring, Hughes and her family have been exploring treatment options to improve her quality of life.

“We want her to have a longer life and be in remission for longer. It’s incurable but this treatment gives her a longer time in remission. It’s already spread everywhere,” Ashton said.

WATCH: Treatment Options for Follicular Lymphoma

Understanding Follicular Lymphoma

Follicular lymphoma is the “second most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and accounts for up to 30% of all lymphomas,” according to researchers with the healthcare education and technology company, StatPearls.

Most non-Hodgkin lymphomas – about 85% — affect B-cells. These cells produce antibodies – proteins that react to foreign substances like viruses or bacteria in your body. The antibodies attach to another protein on the surface of the invading cells, called an antigen, to target and destroy them. Follicular lymphoma is a B-cell lymphoma.

While it’s possible to have follicular lymphoma without presenting symptoms, the Cleveland Clinic says symptoms tend to “mirror” non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Follicular Lymphoma Symptoms may include:

• Fever caused by an infection
• Unexplained weight loss
• Painless swelling in your neck, armpit, and groin caused by enlarged lymph nodes
• Sweating or chills
• Fatigue

WATCH: Follicular lymphoma is the most common form of slow-growing lymphoma.

What is Lymphoma?

Lymphoma is a cancer of your immune system. It starts in the lymphatic system, a network of vessels, ducts, and nodes that runs throughout your body. This system drains excess fluid and waste from your tissues and drains them into your bloodstream. It also produces disease-fighting white blood cells called lymphocytes that defend your body against infections.

Lymphoma starts when lymphocytes develop a genetic mutation that makes them multiply much faster than usual. The mutation also makes older cells that would normally die stay alive. The quickly multiplying lymphocytes start to collect and build up in your lymph nodes, the small glands in your neck, armpits, and other parts of your body.

“I always advise that people understand their specific type of lymphoma because there are over 40 different types,” Dr. Elise Chong, medical oncologist at Penn Medicine, tells SurvivorNet.

“One of the best ways to wrap your head around lymphoma is to start thinking about the different ways we categorize lymphoma,” Dr. Chong added.

Treatment Options for Follicular Lymphoma

If you are diagnosed with follicular lymphoma, you should discuss treatment options with your doctor. The type of treatment depends on various conditions including your age and overall health to how advanced the cancer has become.

Treatment options include:

• Active surveillance, which includes regular exams and tests
• Monoclonal antibody therapy, which uses lab-created antibodies to kill cancer cells.
• Targeted therapy, targets drug treatments for abnormalities present within cancer cells.
• Immunotherapy, which uses your immune system to fight cancer.
• Radiation therapy, which uses high-power energy beams to kill cancer cells.
• Chemotherapy uses drugs designed to kill cancer cells
• Bone marrow or stem cell transplant,

“A bone marrow transplant is a therapy where your bone marrow and your blood cells are completely replaced by someone else’s bone marrow cells and blood cells,” says Dr. Jun Choi, a hematologist-oncologist at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor After a Diagnosis

• Where exactly is the cancer located?
• What do you know about my cancer at this point?
• What are my treatment options based on my diagnosis?
• What are the risks and possible side effects of each treatment, both in the short term and the long term?
• If I’m worried about managing the costs of cancer care, who can help me?
• What support services are available to me? To my family?

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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