Alert – I was shaving my legs when I felt a pea-sized bump – three doctors told me not to worry but then a fourth discovered something far more sinister…

Jade Cook was only 21 when she moved to Queensland from England and was given a deadly cancer diagnosis – all after visiting three separate doctors who insisted she was ‘perfectly healthy’.

The now-34-year-old mum was working on cruise ships in Europe as a spa therapist when she first noticed a pea-sized lump on her thigh while shaving her legs.

‘I had it checked onboard and was told to wait until I was back on shore. Then had it checked again and doctors thought it was just a cyst,’ Jade told FEMAIL. ‘Multiple doctors said just to leave it alone and see if it goes away.’

‘None of the doctors did an ultrasound or a biopsy,’ she shared. ‘There were no scans. They just kept poking at it to see if anything would come out. Looking back, I’m very angry about how I was dismissed.’

The lump had grown to the size of a golf ball and started throbbing by the time she decided to get it checked for the fourth time.

‘I went to the doctor with my friend in who needed a prescription filled, and begged them to do something about it. She finally decided to lance it off and send it for tests – and then it was revealed that it wasn’t just a cyst, it was a tumour that had begun to spread.’

Jade Cook was only 21 when she moved to Queensland from England and was given a deadly cancer diagnosis [pictured with her family]

Jade then had to have her chest and the rest of her body closely monitored for signs of cancer.

‘I was in a new country, I didn’t know anyone, and I had a tumour growing inside me with no idea if it was getting worse. The doctors told me it was high-risk of spreading to my bones which would’ve been fatal,’ she said.

‘If there’s a message I can put out there, it’s to take your health seriously. If you feel a lump or anything suspicious, insist on an ultrasound or a biopsy even if it goes against your doctor. It’s better to be safe than sorry.’

Jade had to wait five months for surgery – the entire time fearful the cancer would spread.

Unfortunately, as doctors determined the cancer to be a sarcoma, there was no explanation as to why it occurred.

Sarcoma is a type of cancer that can occur in different parts of the body

Scientists don’t know exactly what causes most soft tissue sarcomas, but they have found some risk factors that can make a person more likely to develop them.

Jade had to wait five months for surgery – the entire time fearful the cancer would spread

‘I wasn’t very educated about my health, but I didn’t do anything bad. I didn’t smoke, didn’t drink, no drugs.

‘People kept telling me I didn’t need to exercise or watch what I ate because I was naturally slimmer – but that’s just not true. Exercise, getting your heart rate up, being able to consume the right things are all important. Being able to work on your mindset is important.’

She started radiotherapy in October, 2012, once the wounds from surgery healed.

‘One of the hardest things to go through physically was the radiation – it’s like someone has a blowtorch to your leg – and I had it Monday to Friday everyday for six weeks,’ Jade said.

‘It’s like they were burning my leg and increased the intensity as I went through the treatment. Initially it just felt like sunburn then it felt more painful.’

She slept without a doona and doctors didn’t recommend putting bandages on her leg because the skin was so sensitive it would just ‘peel off’.

The side-effects from the radiation got so bad she couldn’t walk or work for a whole month.

The side-effects from the radiation got so bad Jade couldn’t walk or work for a whole month

At the time, Jade had no friends except one woman who worked on the cruise ships with her.

‘I did meet someone but it was a bit scary for him – we’d only been going out for a few weeks and suddenly I had cancer. In hindsight, I can understand why he was a bit distant.

‘But he introduced me to his family and they were absolutely incredible.

‘They took me under their wing, his mum and drove me to hospital appointments, his sister and brother were studying to be nurses so they offered to do my bandages to practice.

‘I met a few more friends along the way and their families would cook me dinner and invite me around to hang out.’

The friends Jade made along the way became her ‘second family’ and support system.

‘I just had to mentally stay strong and push through it. Everyone kept telling me to go home but I don’t come from a lot of money – I didn’t have enough to move my whole life back.

‘I felt like my dream of coming to and starting a business would end before it started if I moved back.’

READ MORE: Young woman ordered to lose weight by doctors who failed to pick up a watermelon-sized tumour in her body reveals the subtle signs they missed

Jade ran salons for seven years before pivoting into the e-commerce side of business with Brow Bible Academy offering online beauty therapy courses and beauty products

Jade had a casual job as a spa therapist to pay for her rent and treatments while she was going through her cancer journey.

She eventually went on to start her own business in the brow industry and turned into a beauty mogul.

‘I always had the desire to open my own business and felt like it was the perfect time because there wasn’t a lot of competition, so I rented a space and was completely booked out after five months,’ she said.

From there she opened her own salon, eventually hired eight staff members then opened a second salon in Cairns with 14 employees.

She had the salons for seven years before pivoting into the e-commerce side of business with Brow Bible Academy offering online beauty therapy courses and beauty products.

By 2020, when Covid hit and millions of people were forced into their homes, the brand was turning over $30,000 in one week.