"I used to be an 'it girl' - then an avocado-sized tumour ruined my life"

Credit: SWNS / Cat Holden

A self-confessed "it girl" is having her entire shoulder removed and replaced with metal after doctors discovered an avocado-sized tumour in her left shoulder joint.

Cat Holden, 23, went from working in London and going on holidays abroad, to living back with her parents and needing 24-hour care and says the diagnosis ruined her life.

She experienced her first symptoms - a shoulder twinge and weak arms - a year before diagnosis, initially believing she'd injured herself at the gym.

But after a round of physiotherapy and a misdiagnosis of tendonitis, Cat visited a private health clinic asking for an MRI.

On January 10, 2024, doctors spotted an avocado-sized tumour in her left shoulder and, on March 8, she was told it was cancerous.