TikTok and Instagram creator Shell Rowe ‘not defined by cancer’

A 26-year-old social media comedy creator who once thought she would be living with cancer for the rest of her life says she will not be held back or defined by it.

Shell Rowe, from Essex, found out she had tumours growing in her throat and was diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2019, but she has now been in remission for more than three years.

Millions watched her TikTok videos in 2022 where she stuck items including sprinkles and cereal to her head when she lost her hair during treatment and now uses the platform to make comedy sketches.

“I thought my world would revolve around cancer forever… I have been able to build just this incredible life beyond cancer that is not defined by it,” she said.

Before her diagnosis, Shell, from Billericay, described herself as being a “perfectly happy” 20-year-old and had not noticed the tumours growing in her throat for six months.

“We all just think it will never happen to us,” she said.

“The whole time I had this shadow from where there was a tumour in my throat that looked like an Adam’s apple but I didn’t think I would get cancer as a young person.

“I just missed it.”

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that affects white blood cells and can cause painless swellings in the neck, armpit or groin.

Research from the Teenage Cancer Trust found that fewer than half of 18-24 year olds can spot any of the main signs of cancer, and Shell hoped her social media work would raise awareness about the symptoms.

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Shell decided to share her experiences on TikTok and Instagram as a way of one day being able to look back at what she went through, and to meet other people of a same age who had had similar experiences, particularly as a lot of her treatment took place during the Covid lockdowns.

Following stage four cancer diagnosis, she received a stem cell donation in 2022 which she says “saved her life” and she also wanted to raise awareness about joining the Stem Cell Donor Registry.

“I thought my world was going to revolve around cancer forever. I thought it would always be the first thing I thought about when I woke up in the morning, the last thing before bed,” she said.

“I remember feeling so down in hospital because I was grieving for a life I had.

“Life has never been the same as before, but it’s been so much more wonderful, so much more fulfilling and joyous than I ever, ever, could have imagined.

“It’s not the life I thought I would have.”

With a combined following of more than 1.1 million across her TikTok and Instagram accounts, she has grown her platforms to follow her aspirations of breaking into the comedy space and has been nominated in the entertainment category at the Creator awards.

She said: “It was such an emotional moment for me because it really was testament to everything that I believe — that you can achieve anything you want to and that I will not be held back or defined by cancer.

“To have recognition that was not to do with cancer, but to do with me as a person and my comedy and the things I create, meant the absolute world.”

Now building a life for herself beyond cancer, she said all she wants is to be seen and recognised for her comedy.

“Maybe one day I would want to write my own TV show or film or do stand-up comedy, public speaking… so many ways of sharing my stories with the world,” she said.

Dr Louise Soanes, the chief nurse at Teenage Cancer Trust, said: “[Shell’s] story reflects our belief that cancer shouldn’t stop young people from living their lives.

“The latest NHS Cancer Patient Experience Survey shows that nearly half of teenagers and young adults diagnosed [were] having to see their GP three or more times before referral – the most out of any age group.

“Although cancer is rare in this age group, it shouldn’t be off the table just because of patient age.”