Alisha Meyer’s heartbreaking reaction to her shocking diagnosis

Despite the frightening results of her medical tests, Alisha Meyer said her diagnosis still came as a relief.

When doctors told Alisha Meyer she had lymphoma she ran straight out of the hospital.

The 20-year-old was running down the Alice Spring streets when a family friend driving by saw her.

“He pulled over his car, yelled out the window …‘are you okay?’ and I stopped in my tracks and I yelled back ‘no I have f**king cancer’,” Alisha said.

Her mum went out looking for her and eventually Alisha decided to return to the hospital to discover what she’d have to endure.

The young woman, who is now living in Adelaide undergoing treatment at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, discovered she had stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma after she visited the emergency room at the Alice Springs hospital with a rash on February 29 this year.

Alisha Meyer, 20, has been diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Alisha at the beach before starting chemo. Picture: Supplied,

Alisha Meyer, 20, has been diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Alisha when she had her hair cut. Picture: Supplied,

“I walked into ED with a skin rash that presented close to anaphylactic,” she said.

“It was a massive skin rash, it was just everywhere, bright red and raised, itchy.”

After doctors continued to conduct tests, it became obvious Alisha did not have just a rash.

“Doctors had no clue about what they were actually looking for – they knew there was something wrong, but they were looking at liver failure,” she said.
When Alisha was undergoing an MRI of her liver, doctors saw the lower part of her lungs and knew she had lymphoma.

She was transferred to the Royal Adelaide Hospital where more tests revealed she had stage four Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“Honestly the staging was a relief … it explains why I was in chronic pain for close to 10 months,” she said.

“I had really severe pain through my shoulders … turned out it was a seven centimetre mass on my spine.

“It was a relief to say that the pain wasn’t in my head.”

Alisha during her first round of chemo. Picture: Supplied,

Alisha at the airport with her partner Curtis before coming to SA. Picture: Supplied,

Prior to her diagnosis Alisha had plans to go university to study event management business, she recently received a promotion at work and was well on her way to buying a house.

“Your whole independence and your whole freedom get stripped from you really quickly,” she said.

“When you’re 20 just trying to get everything together.

“You’re trying to not be dependent on your parents and I was so successful, I’d been living by myself for eight months by then.”

Doctors believe Alisha, who recently lost her hair, will be able to make a full recovery but it will be a tough battle.

“The are hopeful for recovery because of my age,” she said.

Alisha’s been supported by her incredible family including her mum, dad, partner and godmother.

If you’d like to donate to Alisha, you can here.