A Fit, Healthy 22-Year-Old’s Back Pain Was Blamed on New Office Job. Months Later, She Was Diagnosed with Blood Cancer

Lara Muller, a 22-year-old from Guildford, England, started feeling sick in December 2024. She had a sore neck and back and was also fighting a chest infection.

At first, doctors told her her tiredness was because she was anemic (meaning she didn’t have enough iron in her blood). They said her back pain was just from sitting all day at her new office job.

Lara, who was usually healthy and active, felt like something else was wrong. “I knew I was getting worse, but no one listened,” she said.

After coughing up blood in March, Lara had an emergency X-ray and CT scan. That’s when doctors found a mass in her chest.

She was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in June, a kind of blood cancer that affects the immune system.

Lara shared her story on TikTok to warn others. She said chemotherapy helped her get rid of the cancer within about a month and a half.

She explained how her symptoms got worse over time. She felt very tired, dizzy, and her back and neck pain grew worse, but doctors kept blaming her anemia and new office job.

“I usually worked out a lot, but I became too tired to go to the gym,” Lara said. “I went from going five times a week to almost not going at all. I was losing weight.”

Lara wants others to listen to their bodies and keep pushing for answers if something feels wrong.

“Trust your gut,” she said. “You know how you’re feeling.”