A Scottish med student who put her ulcers down to being run down from exam stress had to have two-thirds of her tongue removed and recreated using her LEG when they turned out to be cancer.
After the life-saving surgery, Rachel had to relearn how to walk and talk, and remarkably didn't take any time off her studies as she was back attending online lectures just four days after it. The dancer of 15 years then had two rounds of chemotherapy, 30 rounds of radiotherapy and speech therapy for six months before she was eventually given the all-clear in June 2021.
"I don't tend to use make-up as much anymore because I don't want to cover my scars and [don't want to] feel like I have to [cover them], because it is what it is. I feel proud of my body for being able to come through this. My scars are a part of me and they will be for the rest of my life, and it shows how resilient, strong and powerful my body is, and I want to reflect that within and do myself justice.
"I went to the doctor and I'd been given some pain relief tablets, Bonjela and stuff like that. I still had them a year later but I wasn't too worried about it. I had so much other stuff going on in my life and it wasn't really at the forefront of my mind. Rachel said she was being investigated for a range of conditions, such as hemochromatosis - an inherited condition where iron levels in the body slowly build up over many years. She booked an appointment with a new GP in November 2020, who sent her for a biopsy and she was diagnosed with tongue cancer days later on the 18th December.
"As he was telling me that I had cancer, I don't remember this but my mum does, he had this rash coming up as he was trying to tell us because he was just so uncomfortable. I felt sorry for him because it was a horrible situation. This was followed by two rounds of chemo and 30 rounds of radiotherapy, which she had five days a week for six weeks, as well as speech therapy for around six months. Rachel has since been working tirelessly with the Teenage Cancer Trust and along with the help of some pals, also managed to fundraise a whopping £4,500 for the Little Princess Trust.