My GP told me the lumps on my neck could be parasitic worms from my two adopted street cats, but it was blood cancer

A mother claims doctors warned her lumps on her neck could be parasitic worms from her two adopted ‘alley cats’ before discovering they were blood cancer.

Francesca Knee-Wright, 34, from Brighton, first noticed a ‘very small’ lump on her neck in April, but as she had only had a baby three months earlier she assumed it was just her body changing after her pregnancy.

She said her GP told her over the phone that the pea-sized lump was “probably just a gland” and to call back in two weeks.

Ms Knee-Wright then started to notice that she was losing a lot of weight, but put that down to doing ‘really well’ in the gym.

But the mother-of-two was shocked to discover two more lumps on her neck a few weeks later and went to see her doctor in person.

Her GP reportedly suggested it could be a symptom of worms she may have contracted from her adopted street cats – parasites that infect the colon.

However, an ultrasound scan revealed a total of nine lumps in her neck, and in August Ms Knee-Wright was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of blood cancer that affects the lymphatic system.

According to the NHS, it is ‘a relatively aggressive form of cancer that can spread quickly through the body’ – but is also one of the ‘most treatable’ forms of the disease.

Mrs Knee-Wright was told she was lucky to have found the lumps when they were still relatively small.

Now she encourages others to stand up for themselves when something doesn’t feel right.

Mrs Knee-Wright said: ‘When I finally went back to the doctor after finding two more lumps, they called me personally and said it might be a virus you can get from having cats.

‘The doctor asked if I have a cat, because people who have cats sometimes get worms, and I had two cats.

‘I adopted them from Spain. They are straightforward Spanish alley cats. They have a lot of personality and cause a lot of chaos.

‘In the back of my mind I thought ‘oh God, a lump means cancer’. So in the back of my mind I thought about cancer, but I clung to anything that might mean it was something else, something less sinister.

‘So when they said that about the cats, I thought it might be that.

‘I thought it could be a cyst, people always say it doesn’t have to be cancer, so I clung to a ray of hope, hoping it wasn’t.

‘I went to the gym a lot and had a baby and thought my body was going through so many changes. It was difficult for me to know what was normal with the baby.

‘I’ve lost quite a bit of weight, but I didn’t know if that was because I had just had a baby and was breastfeeding, or because I was doing really well in the gym.

‘I didn’t know it meant I was sick. You just think it could be anything, you don’t think it’s going to be cancer.’

Doctors reportedly told her it was “amazing” that she noticed it so quickly because people with her condition often have “much larger lumps.”

Fran said, “If I hadn’t found another one, I’m sure I would have forgotten about it. Life is busy, and it was a very small piece.

“I’m so lucky I noticed it when I did. Where would I be now if I had left it for a year?

‘My only frustration is that the system is the way it is. If you call the doctor to say you have found a lump, they should see you immediately.

“I don’t think it was good enough to say it’s probably a gland and to call in two weeks.”

“It can be intimidating to question a doctor’s authority. I’m fortunate that I’m the kind of person who says, “I think I need to talk to someone in person about this.”

‘You just never know. I would hate for someone to be in the same position as me and just forget about it. I like to stand up for myself and stand up for things that don’t feel right.’

She admitted she worries about the impact her condition and hair loss while undergoing chemotherapy will have on her three-year-old and eight-month-old sons.

Fran said: ‘I had to stop breastfeeding my baby much sooner than I intended. It completely changed the way I wanted to raise my children.

“They said my hair was going to fall out so suddenly and I was afraid my kids were going to hug me and a strand of my hair was going to fall out.”

Fran decided to ‘take back control’ by shaving her hair before it had a chance to fall out, to raise money for the Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides human hair wigs to children and young people with cancer.

She said: ‘As a mother, I can’t imagine what it would be like for my child to go through something like that, losing all his hair and navigating life.’

On her fundraising page, Fran wrote: ‘Let’s face it, I may be losing my hair, but I am NOT losing this battle. And while I have you, never ignore a lump… Even small ones in strange places.’