Young Woman, 24, Thought She Just Had ‘Tonsillitis’ And Was Prescribed Antibiotics: She Was SHOCKED When It Turned Out To Be Blood Cancer

"I just thought I had tonsillitis," she told The Mirror. "I had no idea it was so much more serious than that." That's also why she didn't think much of it when she was prescribed antibiotics for "tonsillitis" in July of last year.

However, the medicine didn't work.

"After a few weeks, I still couldn't swallow and I could hardly open my mouth," she said. "The drugs didn't seem to be working."

Since the drugs weren't working, she was admitted to the hospital and it was there, in August 2021, that she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia after a bone marrow biopsy and about a week in the hospital.

"I felt so numb when they told me I had cancer," she recalled. "It was terrifying, especially after losing my dad when I was 15." (Georgina lost her dad to cancer, as well.)

Once Georgina had her diagnosis, she began treatment right away eight rounds of chemotherapy, which she finished as of last month.

"I never expected to get cancer at 24," she said. "I really thought I had a sore throat but it turned out to be much worse."

"It has been really hard," she added. However, "I'm feeling more positive now that I'm getting through this. But there were points where I thought I was going to die. I'm just so lucky I got it early."

Understanding Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia, also known as AML, is a cancer that affects bone marrow the spongy tissue inside of your bones. It’s a rare cancer overall, but it’s the most common type of leukemia in adults. Children rarely get AML.

"To understand acute myeloid leukemia, you have to understand how the bone marrow works," Dr. Mikkael Sekeres, former director of the Leukemia Program at Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center and current chief of the Division of Hematology at University of Miami Health System, previously told SurvivorNet. "The bone marrow is the factory that makes all of the cells that wind up in our blood stream."

What is Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)?

This so-called factory makes red blood cells that bring oxygen to our tissues, white blood cells that make up the immune system, as well as platelets, which help stop bleeding, Dr. Sekeres explained. All of these cells perform essential functions in the body, and a spike or decline in any of them can lead to some serious health issues.

"When a person has cancer of the bone marrow, such as acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes, that factory gets broken. These are cancers," he said. "Cancers grow, and they grow in an uncontrollable way."

Dr. Sekeres pointed out that the way blood cancer grows is different from the way other, solid-tumor cancers grow. With breast cancer, for example, someone may develop a lump or a tumor that grows overtime.

With AML, as cancer grows in a confined space (the bone marrow), the normal cells in this space that would be making the red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets, begin dying off. This leads to the bone marrow being filled with cancer cells.

How to Recognize Symptoms of Acute Myeloid Leukemia

There are many symptoms of AML, including:

AML symptoms include:

• Fever
• Frequent infections
• Feeling tired or weak
• Easy bruising or bleeding
• Petechiae, which are blood spots under the skin
• Weight loss or loss of appetite
• Dull or sharp bone pain, usually in the legs and arms
• Pale skin

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms (and are at an increased risk of developing AML), talk to your doctor.

Risk factors that put a person at an increased risk of developing AML include:

• If you are 65 years of age or older: The risk rises as you age.
• If you are male: Men are more likely to get AML than women.
• If you have been treated for cancer in the past: If you have had certain chemotherapy or radiation treatments, they might increase your risk of getting AML.
• If you have had certain exposures: Radiation or chemicals like benzene and formaldehyde might increase your risk.
• If you smoke, or have smoked in the past: Cigarette smoking has been linked to AML.
• If you had another blood disorder: Myelodysplasia or myelofibrosis could put you at greater risk.
• If you have certain genetic disorders: Down syndrome and other genetic syndromes affect AML risk.

Contributing: SurvivorNet staff reports

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