Young Milton Keynes woman is looking forward to her first cancer-free Christmas in two years

A 20-year-old woman from Milton Keynes who is looking forward to her first cancer-free Christmas in two years is calling out for people to support Teenage Cancer Trust, which helped her through her ordeal. Yami Moloteni was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma in July 2021, when she was just 18.

Yami said: “I went to the Urgent Care around the end of January 2021 as I was experiencing breathing issues and other symptoms, and I was sent away with ‘long Covid’. I then started having night sweats and feeling itchy too, so I went to the GP at the beginning of July. I was sent away, and I wish I had stood up for myself.”Cancer in teenagers and young adults is still relatively rare, and symptoms can often be mistaken for growing pains or infections. A 2022 survey showed that nearly half (47%) of teenagers and young adults diagnosed with cancer had to see their GP three or more times before referral – the most out of any age group.

Yami added: “Two days later I was in A&E having fluid drained from my lungs for three days. The next day I was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. I couldn’t quite believe it.

“I picked up my A level results a few weeks later in August and I was over the moon as I’d got an A in Finance which was what I needed to get into my first choice of university. I didn’t know what my treatment would look like, so that still felt like a possibility. An hour later, I got a phone call to say that I’d be starting chemotherapy at The Churchill Hospital in Oxford the following week. I felt really defeated. I was diagnosed at such a young age, and I felt like the next chapter of my life was taken away from me.”

Yami was supported by Teenage Cancer Trust during her treatment and beyond.

She said: “I met Teenage Cancer Trust’s Youth Support Coordinator, Clare, the first time I went to The Churchill. Clare is amazing, she was always there when I need her the most and I couldn’t have got through cancer without her. She was there to listen to my disappointment of not being able to go to uni. Everyone else would say that things would get better, or they would try to give advice, but Clare would just listen to me and let me offload. She’d say: ‘I hear you. It’s tough.’ Her validating it was exactly what I needed. I couldn’t have family or friends with me due to the Covid restrictions, so having her there made a world of difference.”

Yami finished treatment in November 2021 and was looking forward to the festive period with her family. However, she started experiencing worrying symptoms around Christmas time.

She said: “I felt poorly over Christmas with chest pains. I was meant to go to a house party with my boyfriend on New Year’s Eve, but instead I was in hospital. I found out that I had relapsed a few days later. I’d hated everything about chemo, so I didn’t want to do it again.

“I spoke to my consultant, and they suggested that I did a clinical trial of Nivolumab instead, which is an immunotherapy which boosts the immune system rather than targeting the cancer cells. I was one of the last people to get on it, so I was really grateful. I’d have the immunotherapy and go in for lung function tests. I would go home afterwards full of energy and thought: ‘What are they giving me, skittles?’ I started getting my life back to normal.

“Unfortunately, it stopped working and I started radiotherapy at the beginning of August 2022. I was trying to work at the same time and ended up in hospital with a collapsed lung.

“I had a stem cell transplant in October 2022. It was tough and I couldn’t do too much on my own. My parents both worked, and I had little sisters, so they had to juggle visiting me and looking after the kids. The doctor said that it worked really well, and I was out of hospital quickly, but I was the hardest thing I have done mentally and physically. I was constantly throwing up. I was home for less than 24 hours before I went back in.”

Last year Yami’s Christmas was impacted once again because of her cancer treatment.

She explained: “When I got home it was Christmas time and all of my friends were back from uni and socialising, but I had to stay in as I had a low immune system. People were asking me to go Christmas shopping and I was annoyed that I couldn’t. I was so bored.

“I was OK for Christmas, and I went to my aunt’s house with all of my extended family. I didn’t want to miss out. I also managed to go out for New Year’s Eve, which was great after not being able to the year before.

“I’ve never wanted to let cancer completely stop my life so I worked for some of my treatment, went out when I could and went away with my boyfriend.”

Yami was given the all clear in June 2023. She said: “I’m excited for this Christmas as I’ll be able to fully enjoy the festivities with my friends and family.”

Yami is backing Teenage Cancer Trust’s latest campaign, ‘Stop Cancer Destroying Teenage Lives’.

She said: “Clare made such a difference to me during my treatment. It’s important that other young people also have the support they need to get through cancer, so if people are giving back this Christmas, please consider donating to Teenage Cancer Trust to help other young people like me.”

Visit the website here to find out more and to donate.