Bikini Contest Champ Suffering From Back Pain Given 2 Weeks To Live

A 29-year-old former bikini contest champion in Cheshire, England, who was told she had less than a month to live following a terminal lung cancer diagnosis last year has since returned to her daily life and has been doing her best to increase awareness of the disease.

Becca Smith, a gym enthusiast who doesn't smoke, was horrified when she was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and was given two weeks to live in 2020, the New York Post reported.

Smith had been setting up her own yoga studio in Leeds in late 2019 when she began experiencing back pain and a cough. The 2015 Cumbrian Classic bikini champion then suffered severe pain and migraines in January last year and stopped yoga and strength training, thinking she had injured her back. She was hospitalized after losing her vision for the second time and initially thought a slipped disc caused her to fall ill.

By March 2020, she was unable to walk, needed an oxygen machine and constantly had ice packs strapped to her head.

When she was informed of the diagnosis, Smith was told by doctors that the cancer had already spread from her lungs to her spine, brain and skull.

Smith was later moved from the hospital to her home with end-of-life care. She said her "friends and family traveled to be by my bedside to say their goodbyes" despite the lockdown.

Smith's family, however, refused to accept that she only had two weeks to live, and her 31-year-old sister, Steph, invested in herbal remedies in an effort to boost her health as much as possible. The treatment included cannabis oils and healing juices.

But a nurse contacted Smith a week after she went home and informed her that she had anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) lung cancer, which occurs when the ALK gene breaks and sticks to another gene, causing cells to grow abnormally and leading to tumors. The rare mutation makes up just around 5% of all lung cancer cases and is mostly found in non-smokers below 50 years old.

Though it is incurable, ALK is treatable with a tablet-targeted therapy that stops the cancer from growing.

Smith now takes a drug called Alectinib to keep herself "stable" and to prolong her life. The cancer has left her brain and skull, but a small amount still sits dormant on her left lung and spine, which the Alectinib tablets stop from growing.

Smith still goes to the hospital for monthly scans, and her current prognosis is unknown. But she has returned to work, the gym, and claimed she "feels the healthiest mentally and physically."

"I can't live my life in fear," Smith was quoted as saying.

Smith has urged people to start a discussion regarding her disease this November, which is also Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

"96 people died today of lung cancer. 96 will die tomorrow and the next day too. Please share far and wide and let's work together to [educate] the masses," Smith posted on Instagram on Nov. 2. She continues to use the platform to document her journey.

The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, which has supported Smith on her journey with lung cancer, has urged people to go see their doctors once they spot any changes in their bodies.

"[B]y taking early action, you could save your life because the earlier lung cancer is diagnosed, the easier it is to treat," the organization said.