A guy who thought he was hungover after a lads' holiday to Thailand was horrified when he found out his symptoms were down to cancer.
Former army man Andrew Frost, 25, flew home in June 2019 after three weeks away with his friends and found his skin was itching all over. He also felt extremely exhausted, but put it all down to partying too hard.
He said: "On holiday we were drinking and partying hard 24/7. There was no sunbathing, no sightseeing, it was just alcohol. It was a good holiday.
"I had a rash on the right-hand side of my arm that was like a heat rash.
"When we were on the plane back from Hua Hin I told the lads, who were mates from school, that I was really itchy all over my body.
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"They said there was nothing wrong with me and it was from all the alcohol I'd drunk and from being in the sun."
Shortly after landing in the UK, Andrew's exhaustion was so overwhelming that he fainted. When he went to see the GP and explained his symptoms, he was advised to take antihistamines.
"He thought it was an allergic reaction from drinking," Andrew explained.
However, two days later, when the antihistamines hadn't made a difference to Andrew's symptoms, he collapsed again in the bathroom.
He was rushed to hospital in Burton-on-Trent where he had blood tests and an X-ray. Over the next few weeks, he also had a neck biopsy.
Andrew said: "They found a 10cm dark black shadow across my chest. Having good results from the other tests made me think it was nothing."
However, when doctors seemed concerned, Andrew started to panic.
"The consultant asked me to go in for another x-ray and after that I was taken into a room where I was told it could be lung cancer," he said.
"It's the worst thing you can hear and it was a massive shock. I went white and passed out.
"They needed to use a wheelchair to push me around the hospital as I kept shaking."
As more tests were carried out, it became clear Andrew didn't have lung cancer - but it was still bad news. Andrew had stage 2a non-Hodgkins lymphoma in his chest and neck.
He was put on a gruelling three-month course of chemotherapy in August 2019.
Andrew said: "I had chemo every two weeks for three months. I got lucky that I didn't need any radiotherapy and I beat it really soon, perhaps because of my age.
"I found chemo easier than a lot of people. It made me really tired, pretty grumpy and very hungry so I put on a lot of weight. I wasn't sick but I did lose my hair on the last treatment."
While Andrew went through chemotherapy, the family was reminded of his grandmother Jean, who had died earlier that year after a 20 year battle with cancer.
Luckily, Andrew's treatment was a success and he was given the all-clear in November 2019. After finishing his treatment, he met his girlfriend Indre, 31.
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The pair, who like to stay active and are often out and about, are doing a sponsored 26-mile hike to raise money for the Macmillan cancer support nurses who helped Andrew's nan.
"Exercise helped me a lot," Andrew said. "When I finished treatment I met my girlfriend and we did a lot of mountain climbing and hiking around the Peak District. She motivated me."
Now, Andrew is urging anyone with unusual or strange symptoms not to take chances and get checked out.
He said: "I've had friends saying they feel itchy and tired and I've said to always get it checked.
"I just thought it was nothing and it turned out to be NHL."
To donate to Andrew's sponsored hike for Macmillan Cancer support, click here
