I dismissed leg aches that kept me awake for three years but it was the first sign of cancer age 21 – now it’s spread

A KEEN gym-goer, Cian Douglas put his leg pain down to working out for three years – despite it waking him up at night. But the 21-year-old was later diagnosed with a rare type of cancer, undergoing seven surgeries to remove it and having to relearn how to walk. Cian Douglas, 21, was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer Credit: Jam Press Cian, pictured with his girlfriend Emily, started getting leg pain at 17 Credit: Jam Press Recent scans found the cancer has spread to the student’s lungs. Cian learned of his shock diagnosis while he was in Starbucks with his mum, Louise, after receiving a notification on the NHS app. Sign up for the Health newsletter Thank you! “It was a complete shock,” he said. “It instantly sent so many emotions racing through my mind – mostly grief, sadness, and fear. Cian in hospital during his first round of chemo Credit: Jam Press He also underwent multiple surgeries Credit: Jam Press “I couldn’t really process it straight away.” When they arrived for the formal diagnosis in-erson, doctors apologised for the mishap and explained he had synovial sarcoma – a rare cancer affecting soft tissues like muscles. Cian, a computer science student at the University of Manchester, started experiencing leg pain aged 17. He said: “I’d been to the doctors twice and, when it was really bad, I went to the walk-in clinic.” Most read in Health “They thought it was just nerve damage as there wasn’t any apparent cause for it. “I regularly went to the gym, and I knew there was always a risk of damaging yourself whilst exercising, so I just assumed I’d injured myself. “It didn’t really affect my day-to-day life, but it was often more painful at night and it affected my sleep as I’d have shooting pains down my leg.” It wasn’t until June 2024 when Cian, from Leicestershire, noticed a lump on his right leg while massaging it to ease the pain that alarm bells started to ring. Cian was very active and put his leg pain down to working out Credit: Jam Press Alarm bells started to ring when he noticed a lump in his leg Credit: Jam Press He had to wait until his return to university in September, where his GP was, to get it investigated. Cian said: “I’m Type 1 diabetic and I have an insulin pump in my leg, and the university doctor thought that could have caused the lump. “The lump wasn’t near the pump, so I knew that it wasn’t that.” “I’d also had the pump for ages and hadn’t ever had a lump before.” He was referred for an ultrasound, but with a waiting list of two months, his mum used their health insurance to have the test done privately. The ultrasound found a mass, and Cian was passed back to the NHS for an MRI and biopsy. Cian said: “My mum was up in Manchester with me so that she could come to the appointment where I’d hear the results.” “I was in Starbucks with my mum 10 minutes before my appointment and I had a notification come through on my phone which told me I had cancer. Cian and his sister Bethan at hospital Credit: Jam Press Cian became unwell during treatment Credit: Jam Press “This was not ideal at all. I didn’t think it would be cancer as friends and family kept telling me not to worry.” Cian moved back home for treatment, so he could have the support of his family nearby, and started treatment at the Teenage Cancer Trust unit, undergoing chemotherapy for four months to try to shrink the tumour, as well as proton beam therapy [a form of radiotherapy]. He said: “Because I’d been at uni before my diagnosis, I was used to having some independence. “During my treatment, I was struggling with basic things like walking around or standing up for long enough to cook for myself. It was hard. “I was meant to spend one week in hospital having chemo, have two weeks at home, and then start again. “But after my week of treatment, I was always home for a couple of days before I got neutropenic sepsis [a life-threatening condition caused by low white blood cells] and then I’d be back in hospital as an inpatient for another week as I was so poorly.” In May 2025, he underwent a seven-hour surgery to attempt to remove the tumour. Cian said: “They had to remove a lot of my muscle, drill into my hip and remove some of my hip joint. I was cut from my hip to my knee. Cian and his girlfriend Emily Credit: Jam Press Cian and his family at his graduation July 2026 Credit: Jam Press “I had a lot of complications and kept getting infections, so I needed six more surgeries to clean the wound. “I had to have physio and learn how to walk again, which took around six months. “It was a difficult process – the surgeons had removed two of the four of my quadriceps [large muscles at the front of the thigh], and moved one of them to a different location. “This made it very difficult as I essentially had to learn to use my other muscles to support and help me walk, while actively trying not to use the muscle that had moved to a different location, around my hip.” “It was a very strange experience. It took just over a year to recover fully, but again, I am still permanently disabled and will never be able to get to what I once was.” Cian has been supported by Teenage Cancer Trust throughout his treatment, particularly regarding his mental health. He said: “I was really worried about dying, and I couldn’t talk to my parents about that as I didn’t want to worry them, and so it was great to be able to talk to Claire, a clinical nurse specialist. “When I tried to tell friends and family that I was worried, they just said that I’d be fine. “I think they were just trying to be helpful and reassure me, but it just made me feel a bit rubbish as they didn’t know what might happen to me. “Claire wouldn’t do that, which validated my feelings and helped me work through it. “She would listen to me and provide comfort and advice. Just talking to her and getting it all off my chest really helped.” Cian added: “I was in my final year at uni when I was diagnosed, and it was really difficult as I’d dedicated two-nd-ahaf years of my life to it and I’d been working really hard, and now I was worried that I’d have nothing to show from it.” “It was hard seeing my friends and sister graduate the year I was meant to. I felt like I had been left behind.” Incredibly, Cian was able to return to his studies and graduated in July, and remains positive while he looks ahead to the future – while doctors continue to monitor his health. Comment now