Doctors told me my shortness of breath was anxiety… it was actually an extremely rare form of cancer that has left me with only 18 months to live

A heartbroken mother has told of her suffering after doctors refused her daughter’s treatment for terminal cancer due to fear.

Madi Foster, from Stafford in Staffordshire, was an otherwise healthy and ‘physically fit’ teenager.

But at age 17, she suddenly became short of breath and had no energy.

Concerned by the unexpected change, she visited her GP with her mother Nicola Foster, 51, but claims she was told it was just anxiety and depression and was prescribed antidepressants.

Madi Foster, from Stafford in Staffordshire, was an otherwise healthy and ‘physically fit’ teenager. But at the age of 17, she suddenly started to get out of breath quickly and had no energy

It wasn’t until two years later, in June 2023, that her symptoms worsened. She was experiencing back pain and was sweating “excessively.” Emergency room doctors discovered her spleen was enlarged.

Scans confirmed she had a rare and aggressive form of cancer, adrenocortical carcinoma – cancer of the adrenal gland, which sits next to the kidneys and is responsible for regulating vital functions such as metabolism and the immune system.

Despite having her tumor removed and surviving septic shock, the 20-year-old was shocked to learn in February that her cancer (which affects one in a million people) had spread and she had just 15 to 18 months to live.

Mrs Foster told of Madi’s traumatic experience: ‘Madi also complained of back pain, but the doctors thought it was a urinary tract infection.

‘She was diagnosed with a high heart rate and was given medication to slow it down.’

Concerned by the unexpected change, she visited her GP with her mother Nicola Foster (pictured), 51. However, she claims she was told it was just anxiety and depression and was prescribed antidepressants.

Unlike many other cancers, doctors don’t know exactly what puts someone at increased risk of developing the disease. There are no known risk factors. This is partly because the disease is so rare that it hasn’t been studied as extensively as other cancers.

After falling ill in June 2023, she was again diagnosed with a kidney infection and sent home, Ms Foster claimed.

When her condition deteriorated further, she was taken by ambulance to Stafford Hospital.

“They did a scan of her spine and saw that her spleen was enlarged,” she added.

‘Her spleen was actually wrapped around the 15cm tumor and was crushed.

‘She was rushed to Stoke and several blood tests confirmed it was cancer. They thought it was one of four rare forms of cancer. It was horrible.’

After a biopsy confirmed it was adrenal cortical carcinoma, she underwent surgery to remove the tumor in September.

But after complications from the surgery, Madi went into septic shock when her abdomen filled with five liters of fluid in November 2023.

It wasn’t until two years later, in June 2023, that her symptoms worsened, with back pain and “buckets of sweating,” when emergency department doctors discovered her spleen was enlarged

While Madi has since undergone chemotherapy to slow the growth of her tumors, her parents also found surgeons at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Maryland, USA, who were willing to operate. Madi is pictured recovering from septic shock

Mrs Foster said: ‘We were told it was highly unlikely she would survive. She had to have emergency surgery and had three heart operations that night.

“She had multi-organ failure. She pulled through after two weeks and came home after four weeks.”

Because she was unable to undergo chemotherapy during her recovery, a check-up in February revealed that the cancer had spread to her abdomen and liver.

Unlike many other cancers, doctors don’t know exactly what puts someone at increased risk of developing the disease. There are no known risk factors.

This is partly because the disease is so rare that it has not been researched as extensively as other forms of cancer.

According to Cancer Research UK, an average of only 220 people each year are diagnosed with adrenal cancer, which includes adrenocortical carcinoma.

In the US, this number is around 800.

The glands are responsible for regulating the heart rate and other functions related to the cardiovascular system.

They also help activate a person’s fight-or-flight response in stressful situations.

Scans confirmed she had a rare and aggressive form of cancer called adrenocortical carcinoma — which affects just one in a million people. Despite having the tumor removed and surviving septic shock, the 20-year-old was shocked to learn in February that her cancer had spread and she had just 15 to 18 months to live.

The disease is thought to occur when the DNA of the cells in the gland undergoes an unhealthy change and begins to replicate, but the exact cause is still unclear.

As with other forms of cancer, malignant cells from the adrenal glands can break off and be carried through the bloodstream to another part of the body.

This causes the cancer to spread, making it more difficult to treat and significantly more deadly.

To research suggest only 15 percent of patients whose cancer has spread survive longer than five years.

Although Madi has since undergone chemotherapy to slow the growth of her tumors, her parents also found surgeons at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Maryland, US, who were willing to operate on her.

On August 19, she underwent her first surgery to relieve pressure on her spine.

Another surgery is scheduled for August 27, to remove half of her liver and the tumors, followed by radiation to her spine.

A GoFundMe The page set up in June to fund her travel and accommodation costs has already raised more than £45,000.

Madi said: ‘It has given us all hope again, when we thought there was no hope.

“My plan is to get through the treatment they offer at the NIH and then go to medical school, specifically oncology, and help other people, like myself who have had cancer.

“I call my trip here a holiday because I haven’t been able to leave the country for so long and it’s such a positive experience to be here.”

Mrs Foster added: ‘She has such a positive attitude. She has never cried.

“She doesn’t let it upset her.”