I thought my rash was just an allergic reaction to make up – the truth was horrifying but I was told ‘you can’t be ill’
A WOMAN mistook her cancer symptoms for an allergic reaction.
Antonia Rubio, 25, naively believed her rash was down to her make-up – but she was actually in the early stages of thyroid cancer.
She now wants to raise awareness of the signs to look out for before it’s too late.
The singer, from Jersey, said: “It went from just having a rash on my face to having an anaphylactic shock while I was having dinner with my housemate.
“I couldn’t breathe and I thought I was having a heart attack. It was scary.”
Antonia’s ordeal began with red marks on her face, which quickly turned into recurring life-threatening anaphylactic episodes.
She initially thought she was allergic to either her make-up, perfume or body products, so she stopped using them completely.
But after numerous hospital admissions, where she was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, Antonia was told that it was, in fact, thyroid cancer.
“It was really difficult being diagnosed with cancer in my 20s,” Antonia said.
“I felt as though I was getting left behind and all my friends were ahead of me getting on with their lives.
“It took a really long time to come to terms with my diagnosis and mourn the life I thought I was going to live.
“I felt a mixture of emotions, which included relief, as after three years of being unwell, I had finally been given an answer.
“It wasn’t the answer I wanted; but once I had a diagnosis, it meant I could start treatment and battle the illness head-on.”
Antonia, who was studying at the University of Brighton, had 10 anaphylactic episodes over the course of one year.
The potentially-fatal reaction causes the blood pressure to drop, the airways to narrow and a weak pulse.
Each time, she was sent via ambulance to hospital – but the cause remained unknown.
“Because it was during the height of Covid, they didn’t have time to do tests on me to get to the root of it,” she said.
“I restricted my diet to try to manage the shocks, but even things I thought were safe, like bananas, brought me out in a rash.
“I lost about 3st, but I put that down to my new diet.
“I kept going back to the doctors, but they thought I was just anxious or a hypochondriac
“Because I was a student, they asked me if I smoked or drank, but I didn’t do either as I was very health conscious.”
I was told that I ‘looked too good to have cancer’, but what does cancer look like?
Antonia Rubio
Worried about her studies, Antonia decided to move back home in February 2021 to continue her degree remotely.
While there, her condition worsened.
“I had a lump in my throat and was tired all the time,” she said. “I would go home from work and sleep.
“I remember thinking that I wasn’t living the life of a normal 24-year-old and my friends said I wasn’t as loud or fun anymore.
“It wasn’t a criticism, they were genuinely worried about me.
“I thought there was more going on with my body, so I persisted and didn’t take no for an answer.”
Antonia visited an ENT specialist, who spotted a 0.8in (2cm) lump on her throat and referred her to have an ultrasound and biopsy, which came back inconclusive.
Not prepared to give up the fight, she attended a private clinic to have the lump removed in March 2023, after reading about Love Island’s Demi Jones’ experience with thyroid cancer.
A week later, she had her disease confirmed and, in April 2023, her thyroid was removed entirely.
The main symptoms of thyroid cancer
Like many cancers, the symptoms of thyroid cancer can be subtle, and easily mistaken for other ailments.
But if you notice any of the following signs, you should make an appointment with your GP:
- A lump in the front, lower part of your neck (it is usually hard, slowly gets bigger and doesn’t hurt)
- Pain in the front of the neck (or feeling like something is pressing against it)
- A persistently hoarse voice
- A sore throat that won’t go away
- Difficulty swallowing or breathing
- A red face
- Softer poos or diarrhoea
- Weight loss
- A cough
Having these symptoms doesn’t mean you have cancer, but it’s important to get them checked.
Source: NHS
Antonia said: “After having two surgeries in a short amount of time, I woke up and couldn’t talk.
“I started panicking and I cried because I love singing. I couldn’t sing for three months.
“I was really upset about it, but my voice returned and now I’m practising every day.”
Antonia is sharing her story with the help of the Teenage Cancer Trust as part of its #BestToCheck campaign, which urges people to be aware of the signs and symptoms of cancer.
She said: “I just knew that something wasn’t right. You know your own body better than anyone.
“Ask yourself: ‘Do I feel different? Am I more tired than usual? Do I feel itchy? Have I been losing weight for no reason?’
“I was told that I ‘looked too good to have cancer’ and ‘You can’t be ill, you look too well’, but what does cancer look like? It can be different for different people.
“Comments like that invalidated a lot of what I went through.
“I think uni students need to be extra vigilant because they are responsible for their health as they don’t have parents nagging them to go to the doctors.
“I think they are also more likely to think it’s fresher’s flu or that they are just run down due to trying to balance uni work with a social life.”
Antonia added that during treatment, she was in “survival mode” but she assumed things would return to normal once she finished.
Sadly, it has been “hard to go back to socialising again”.
“People don’t think I need support anymore, but I still do,” she said.
“They don’t realise that once you’ve had cancer it will affect you forever.
“You’re still part of that club that you never wanted to be a part of.
“My friends are getting engaged, moving in with their partners and having babies, but I don’t know what’s in my future.
“There’s a lot of things that you don’t realise will be affected, like your fertility; I’m planning a baby shower for one of my friends and it’s hit me that I don’t know if I can have kids.
“You have to just tackle those things as they come along.
“It used to scare me not knowing what the future held and I had a set route in mind, but now I find it exciting.
“I want to take pleasure in being healthy and happy.”
Antonia, who has written a song about having cancer in your 20s, is currently working as a finance administrator but she hopes to teach music in the future.