First-time buyer thought chest rash was stress related but was cancer

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy JOSHUA HAINING, NEWS REPORTER Published: 17:43 BST, 30 May 2026 | Updated: 18:44 BST, 30 May 2026

A first-time buyer thought her chest rash was caused by the stress of moving house - only to discover she had a life-threatening cancer. Faith Hinitt, from Retford, Nottinghamshire, experienced an itchy red rash on her chest and initially blamed it on receiving a job promotion and moving home in June 2023. The 27-year-old also dismissed symptoms including extreme fatigue, hip pain and night sweats on changing contraception and the stressful move.But after she failed to respond to treatment for a gum infection, the dentist requested the holiday park assistant manager take a blood test in October 2023.The appointment helped save her life. After visiting A&E two days later on October 7, Faith was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia, a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer. In the hopes of entering remission, she is waiting to have her second stem cell transplant in June and has since undergone several rounds of chemotherapy.Since her diagnosis, Ms Hinitt has shared her journey with acute myeloid leukaemia to more than 30,000 Instagram followers. Faith Hinitt initially dismissed symptoms including extreme fatigue, hip pain and night sweats on changing contraception and the stress of moving house The 27-year-old from Retford, Nottinghamshire, thought the itchy red rash on her chest was caused by stress In the hopes of entering remission, she is waiting to have her second stem cell transplant in June 'In May 2023 I started feeling really, really tired and exhausted. At the time I'd just had a job promotion, and I was buying a house - they're two really big life changes happening at once,' she told the Mirror.'Buying a house on your own is obviously very, very stressful so I was blaming my tiredness on that. I also had a couple of rashes come up during that summer, which I put down to the stress of buying my first home.'I was having night sweats, but I'd swapped my contraception so I thought it was because I'd come off the contraception. I blamed it on my hormones, like a normal 25-year-old would. You don't think these are all symptoms of blood cancer.'What is acute myeloid leukaemia? Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is an aggressive cancer of the white blood cells.It is a rare type of cancer, with around 3,100 people diagnosed each year in the UK. AML symptoms develop in weeks and become worse over time.Symptoms include: Looking pale or 'washed out'.Feeling tired or weak.Breathlessness.Frequent infections.Unusual and frequent bruising or bleeding, such as bleeding gums or nosebleeds.Losing weight without trying to.It is not known what causes AML and, in most cases, there's no identifiable cause.Chemotherapy is the main form of treatment and it is needed as soon as AML is diagnosed.