Young Staffordshire woman diagnosed with one-in-three million cancer after symptoms mistaken for anxiety

Her mum, Nicola Foster, 51, took her to the GP but they were told Madi was suffering from anxiety and depression. Madi’s symptoms persisted and she started to complain of back pain and began "sweating buckets".

She was eventually blue-lighted to Stafford Hospital, Staffordshire, and they found her spleen was enlarged because of 15cm tumour wrapped around it. A biopsy at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, confirmed it was adrenocortical carcinoma - a one-in-a-million cancer with odds of one-in-three million for people in Madi's age bracket.

She had the 2kg tumour removed but when her abdomen filled with fluid following the operation she went into septic shock - and only just pulled through. The family found out Madi's cancer had returned in February 2024 and was in her abdomen and liver. She was told there was nothing more they could do and told she had 15 to 18 months to live.

But Nicola and Craig, 50, refused to give up hope and found doctors in Maryland, in the US, who would operate. Strangers have donated £45,000 to fund Madi's travel and accommodation and underwent her first surgery on August 19.

Madi said: “It’s given us all hope again, when we thought there wasn’t any. My plan is to get well through the treatment they’re offering at the NIH and go on to study medicine particularly oncology, and help other people as I have been through cancer myself. I’ve been calling my trip here a holiday because I’ve been unable to leave the country for so long and the fact that it’s such a positive experience being here too.”

Nicola, from Stafford, Staffordshire, who works in medical sales, said: "She constantly defies the odds. They didn't presume a 20-year-old would have this diagnosis. It's one-in-three million for her age group."

Madi was a fit teenager playing for Stafford Rugby Club when her symptoms started in 2021. Nicola said: "We noticed she'd get breathless and lacked energy. We took her to the GP. She was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. They wanted to put her on antidepressants."

Madi also complained of back pain but doctors put it down to a urine infection. She was also diagnosed with a high heart rate and put on medication to slow it down. Madi started to feel better again but in June 2023 she became "pretty ill". Nicola said: "She was sweating buckets and complaining of back pain." But they were told it was a kidney infection again and sent home.

Madi continued to deteriorate and Nicola phoned for an ambulance and was taken to Stafford Hospital. Nicola said: "They took a scan of her back and saw her spleen was enlarged. They said to take her home but I refused."

Madi was admitted and a consultant from the Royal Stoke came to do ward rounds and spotted a large mass on her ultrasound. Nicola said: "Her spleen was actually wrapped around the 15cm tumour and was being pushed and squashed. She was rushed up to Stoke and various blood tests confirmed it was cancer. They believed it was one of four rare cancers. We looked to see what they were and all four were pretty horrific."

A biopsy then confirmed it was adrenocortical carcinoma - a cancer of the adrenal glands. Nicola said: "Madi was grateful that she had a diagnosis - that it all made sense." In September 2023, Madi underwent an operation to remove the tumour. It was massive. There was no cancer anywhere else. She recovered relatively well."

But after complications with the surgery Madi went into septic shock when her abdomen filled with five litres fluid in November 2023. Nicola said: "We were told it was highly likely she wasn't going to survive. She went into emergency surgery. She had to have heart restarted three times that night. She was multiple organ failure. She pulled though after two weeks and came home after four weeks."

Madi was unable to go through chemotherapy during that time and at a check up scan in February 2024 they found out the cancer had returned. Nicola said: "They told me there was nothing else they could do. She was classed as stage four. She had 15 to 18 months to live."

Madi was eventually put on a chemotherapy drug to slow down the growth of her tumours but Nicola refused to give up and started researching other options.

She found out about the National Institutes of Health in Maryland - which is funded by the US government for its research - through a Facebook group. Nicola said: "They wanted to do whatever they could to save Madi's life. They also discovered there was a tumour in her back."

Madi has now flown out to America and had her first surgery to relieve pressure on her spine on August 19, 2024. She will then have an operation to remove half her liver and the tumours on August 27, 2024 - followed by radiation on her spine.

Nicola said: "She's got such a positive attitude. She's never cried. She's not let it upset her."