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A young islander has garnered millions of views after sharing her cancer journey online to raise awareness and support those with similar experiences, while also highlighting the unique challenges young cancer patients face.
Antonia Rubio, a 24-year-old woman from Jersey, has taken to social media to share her journey with thyroid cancer from diagnosis to treatment.
"I had a long process of getting diagnosed," explained Miss Rubio.
"So I wanted to contribute to seeing real people and real experiences online."
Pictured: Miss Rubio has documented her journey with thyroid cancer journey on TikTok.
Through her TikTok videos, Miss Rubio candidly shares her daily life and emotions to show that each cancer journey is different.
"It's not a one-size-fits-all and there is no universal cancer experience,” she said.
One of her videos recently got over one million views.
"It is just mental, but also really cool," said Miss Rubio.
Her content features a mix of positivity and humour, with her TikTok bio reading: “Cancer can take my thyroid but not my humour”.
“When you're going through something as bad as cancer, you just have to make light of everything you possibly can," she explained.
“It was really important to me to authentically post because there are lows, but there are also highs.
"It is hard and horrible... but there is a light at the end of the tunnel."
Pictured: Miss Rubio celebrating Christmas Day, posted on TikTok with the caption: "This is my first and hopefully last Christmas with cancer and although it has been a lovely day, there is a small voice in my head constantly reminding me that I may still have a battle ahead."
Sharing her journey has allowed Miss Rubio to connect with others facing similar challenges.
"Seeing and talking about our experiences makes me feel less alone," she said.
Additionally, her content serves as a source of support for those whose loved ones are battling cancer.
"Never feel like you're saying the wrong thing," she advised. "Letting someone know you're thinking about them is really valuable.”
Miss Rubio also aims to encourage viewers to seek medical help for concerning symptoms and to be persistent in getting proper care.
She explained that posting about her cancer journey on social media has led others to consult doctors about suspicious lumps, leading to some people discovering they also had cancer.
Miss Rubio became unwell in 2020 and she suffered from fatigue, lack of appetite, rashes, poor circulation, weakness, and fevers.
"I felt myself deteriorating," she recalled. "I was a shell of a human being."
Pictured: Miss Rubio's experience, from struggling with misdiagnosis to inspiring others to seek medical help, underscores the challenges young women face in being taken seriously about their health.
However, she faced challenges getting her symptoms recognised which resulted in three years of incorrect diagnoses.
She felt this was because attention was focused on the pandemic at the time and that she was not taken seriously as a young woman who looked "healthy" on the outside.
Doctors initially thought her symptoms were anxiety or allergies. However, a lump on her neck eventually led to a cancer diagnosis.
When she found out she had cancer, her initial panic and distress turned to relief.
“I lived three years without any answers,” said Miss Rubio.
"I wish someone had listened to me earlier... now I have been left with long-term issues, health issues.
"We're often dismissed as young and healthy, but you can look like me and still have cancer."
Miss Rubio added young people, especially women, often downplay their pain.
"We are conditioned to toughen up," she said. "But that's detrimental.
“You might be experiencing horrible, debilitating symptoms, but you look fine, and people tell you that.
"It kind of invalidates you and then you don't seek help.
“But, if I can help one person that's enough for me... I've made the best out of a bad situation.
"So now I can kind of take a step back and be like, I have become more resilient."
Miss Rubio recently returned to Jersey after a ten-day radioactive iodine treatment in Southampton Hospital.
After coming back to the island, she spotted her dream yellow Mini for sale at St Aubin Car Sales – a car her late grandmother had always wanted.
Pictured: Miss Rubio was touched when a car dealership owner helped her track down her dream yellow Mini, even though it had already been sold.
She had been on the lookout for a new car and said: “It felt like fate when we saw it. We decided we had to buy it the next day.”
However, the next morning, she discovered the car had already been sold.
Learning about Miss Rubio's battle with cancer, the dealership owner reached out to the buyer, who agreed to let her have the car.
Miss Rubio explained that she was “sobbing” when she found out and described it as “one of the kindest things anyone has ever done”.
She will receive her results in January to determine whether the cancer treatment has worked.
All being well, she will have a final scan in July and could get the “all clear” in August.
Antonia Rubio sat down with Express to talk about her ongoing battle with thyroid cancer, how her efforts to raise awareness and support other young cancer patients have reached millions of viewers, and the challenges young women face in being taken seriously about their health.
Listen to the interview below or search 'Bailiwick Podcasts' on your favourite podcast provider...
Car dealer goes "above and beyond" to help cancer patient get dream Mini
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