Young Adelaide mum Milly Mitchell’s shock health discovery after she relocated to Australia for a ‘new beginning’ and was ‘brushed off’ by GPs when she lost weight and felt constant fatigue

A young mother is fighting for her life after doctors ‘waved away’ her unintentional weight loss and constant fatigue for a year.

Milly Mitchell, 27, moved from New Zealand to Australia three years ago to be closer to her parents and start a ‘new beginning’, not knowing her world would be turned upside down by cervical cancer.

Just months after settling in Adelaide, she began to struggle with extremely heavy periods, recurring urinary tract infections, unintentional weight loss, and constant fatigue.

Mrs Mitchell said she had visited five different doctors in an attempt to find out what was wrong, but was always dismissed as ‘too young for cancer’.

‘One of them was a woman and she actually told me that what I’m experiencing is completely normal for someone who has endometriosis, and she gave me a hormonal pill to stop long periods, but at that point I had already had four periods. months,” she told Daily Mail Australia.

‘They told me I was too young to think about gynecological cancer because it is more common in women in their 40s or menopause.’

A year after first seeking help, Ms. Mitchell took herself to the hospital, where doctors found an ‘fast and aggressive’ tumor measuring 8 cm and that the disease had also spread to the lymph nodes in her pelvis.

Mrs Mitchell underwent six blood transfusions and began daily radiotherapy, in addition to weekly four-hour chemotherapy sessions and internal radiation to ‘blow up’ the tumour.

After her treatment, her family moved into their own home and life started to look bright again, but then everything came to an abrupt halt.

Just two weeks ago, Mrs Mitchell received the devastating news that the cancer had spread to her lungs and spine.

Milly Mitchell, 27, moved from New Zealand to Australia three years ago to be closer to her parents and start a ‘new beginning’, not knowing her world would be turned upside down by cervical cancer

“When the cancer spread to the lymph nodes in my pelvis, the lymph nodes spread it to different parts of my body and they couldn’t see that at the time,” she said.

‘I had a six-monthly PET scan… three days later I presented myself to the emergency department again with severe back pain and that’s when the doctor told me my cancer had come back.

“I was sitting all alone in the little hospital cubicle… when the doctor told me the news, I just started crying.”

The mother will now undergo more severe chemotherapy and radiation to her chest and spine in a desperate bid to save her life.

Mrs. Mitchell wishes the GPs had taken her more seriously because her cancer would never have “made it this far.”

Mrs Mitchell underwent six blood transfusions and began daily radiotherapy, in addition to weekly four-hour chemotherapy sessions and internal radiation to ‘blow up’ the tumour.

On Thursday, she discovered the cancer has now spread to her collarbone, chest, ribs, both hips and right thigh.

‘It’s difficult because now I’m in the fourth phase and I’m receiving palliative care. “I have a four-year-old son and I want to be here to see him grow up,” she said.

‘It’s not my time to go yet.

‘Unfortunately, if my body doesn’t accept this treatment, I’ll get the bad news about how long I’ll have left, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed that this treatment works.

“We’re told to prepare for the worst… At 27, I never thought I would be sorting out my will and trying to provide the best possible future for my son.”

On Thursday, she discovered the cancer has now spread to her collarbone, chest, ribs, both hips and right thigh.

Mrs. Mitchell has one GoFundMe to try to help the family cover rent and childcare costs now that she can’t work and relies on one income.

Her partner Declan shared a heartbreaking update on Sunday.

“First and foremost, we would like to thank you very much for your expressions of support and your donations,” he said.

‘I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but on Friday we confirmed Milly’s stage 4 diagnosis and also confirmed that the cancer is actually in the bones and has spread through the lymph nodes and bloodstream.

‘Her treatment is palliative because unfortunately it is incurable, so the emphasis is on pain management.’

Ms Mitchell has set up a GoFundMe to help the family cover rent and childcare costs now that she can no longer work and rely on one income

Ms Mitchell urged people to remember that cancer does not discriminate and can affect ‘anyone, at any time’.

“It’s so important to stand up for yourself and get second opinions,” she said.

‘If you know something is wrong, you have to keep pushing until someone actually listens.’