Ben Peters suffered for weeks with inflamed tonsils and was prescribed antibiotics on multiple occasions after trips back and forth to the doctors.
The pain made it hard for the 22-year-old from Swansea to eat and breath and his gut instinct told him it was something more than tonsillitis.
"I was told my body wasn't reacting to the antibiotics," said Ben
"I was missing out on work, phoning in sick, struggling to do my daily activities. I was constantly in pain and not eating. I phoned NHS 111 and demanded to be seen because I was really struggling with my breathing and I just knew something wasn’t right."
It turned out, his gut instinct was right.
After experiencing the symptoms since October, on December 26 an ambulance was sent to Ben's home in Swindon where he lives with his partner and he was rushed into urgent care.
"On the Monday I was sent for blood tests and we were still convinced it was tonsillitis. By the Tuesday I was told it could be a possible lymphoma, but I would need further tests done to just be sure.
"Fair play to the staff, they didn't wait around, I had a bone marrow test on the Tuesday and results came back on Thursday where me and my partner were sat down and told that it wasn't tonsillitis and I was diagnosed with acute lymphatic leukaemia."
Ben said he and his partner, Mark Northmore, were moved to the back of their seats upon hearing the news.
"Hearing that, my world just shattered really."
As Ben was living in Swindon, his partner had to call his mum to give her the news.
"With everything going on and my mum and family living in Wales they can’t obviously be here for me," added Ben.
"You can imagine how my mum feels for her son to have been diagnosed and that she can’t be here, it can’t be easy. But the way we look at it we would rather use Facetime and keep each other safe than risk anything and not see each other at all.
"And when everything is eased we will see each other and also my family back In Wales and I can not wait for that moment."
He said his mum, Hayley Peters, had been a massive support despite their separation.
Ben was in the Great Western Hospital for two days before he was transferred to Oxford Hospital to start chemotherapy.
"To anyone hearing this news, it destroys you, but I’ve let it be the making of me.
"I couldn’t have done that without the support off the staff here at Oxford. Family friends, my partner, and all the charities that are there for patients like myself."
Ben is currently doing well, and even said how looking back on photos before his hospital admission it was easy to see just how ill he was.
"I used to turn my nose up to a lot of foods, things I never even tried but said that I didn't like. Since this journey, I have gotten into a routine and have tried everything and anything.
"I like to keep myself in a routine in hospital, just staying positive and taking each day as it comes."
Ben is now home from hospital and is due to start a second cycle of chemotherapy as an outpatient in two weeks time.
He credits his positive outlook to his recovery so far and is keen to raise awareness of conditions like his and highlight how things may go undiagnosed.
He has also begun fundraising for cancer charity Clic Sargent, and aims to walk 500,000 steps in March in order to raise money. You can make a donation here.
The charity supports teenagers and young people going through cancer, and has provided Ben with a lot of help through his treatment.
