A student was diagnosed with terminal cancer when he was just 19 – after noticing three symptoms at university.
Graeme Porter, now 20, is from Aberdeen, and is unsure how much longer he will live for. But he is determined to raise awareness and spread positivity in the time he has left.
The incredible young man has Ewing sarcoma, a rare cancer that can occur in bone and surrounding tissue. He was studying law at the University of Edinburgh when he first noticed warning signs.
Pain
Graeme, who said chemotherapy is currently prolonging his life, revealed: “I noticed while I was sleeping or sitting that pain would start in my lower back, roughly where my spine is. This pain could be constant or it came and went and it ranged from mild to severe pain.”
According to the American Cancer Society, most patients with Ewing tumours will experience pain in the area of the tumour. It also states it can be worse at night, something Graeme experienced while trying to sleep.
Weight loss
As for the second symptom, the brave student said he lost roughly between three and four stone in just five weeks. This happened between Easter break to when he moved back home from university.
And MedicalNewsToday explained that weight loss is another known symptom of the rare cancer that mostly affects people who are 10 to 20 years old. They urged anyone who loses weight rapidly for no apparent reason to seek help from a doctor.
Fatigue
Graeme also revealed he suffered the symptom of fatigue. He said: “Tiredness was also a thing. All of these amounted to me struggling to do daily activities which started to affect my daily life.”
The NHS states that some people with Ewing sarcoma may experience no symptoms at all. But they also stated severe tiredness was a symptom, but less common than the main one, which was pain in the affected area.
Diagnosis
Graeme had no idea how serious his condition was when his mum took him to A&E in May 2023. Doctors told him it could be kidney stones but, the following month, a biopsy revealed he had Ewing sarcoma in his lower spine. They found a ten centimentre mass and the cancer eventually spread to his lungs.
Remembering the moment, he said: “You hear about young people going through cancer but you never expect it to be yourself. My parents and myself felt like we were shoved in the deepest ocean. Also being told your child is incurable, my parents broke down. My mum rushed out the room with a breakdown and I sat in silence, luckily we had some other relatives with us.”
Treatment
From July to January, Graeme went through 14 cycles of chemotherapy and he also had six weeks of radiotherapy. His treatment is now palliative and he is taking Ifosfamide, a chemotherapy drug that stops cancer cells dividing and growing.
And asked how much time he has left, he answered: “We are not too sure on a time frame. The chemo is doing its job so hopefully prolonging any time frame. Once the treatment options run out, and there are a few more to go afterwards, that is it really.”
Spreading positivity
Graeme would be forgiven for feeling angry at the world, but he has shown remarkable positivity since his diagnosis.
He raises awareness on his TikTok page where he goes on live streams and encourages viewers to ask him any questions they want. He now hopes to “help other people see a positive light.”
Asked why that was important to him, he said: “I would love to show people that cancer does not define me. Being told I have at worst a few days at best if my palliative chemo didn’t work was a surreal moment that made me want to live everyday like it could be my last.”
Last wish
After his first TikTok live, Graeme managed to draw in an astonishing audience of 35,000 people. This inspired his friend, Lily, who lives in Leicester, to contact his mum to start a GoFundMe.
And the aim of it is to raise money to get Graeme to Australia before he dies. He told us: “It has been one of my childhood dreams to go visit Australia and see what the other side of the world has to offer. I am very thankful to the support that has happened so far.”
To make a donation to the GoFundMe, to help make his last wish come true, you can do so here.