A college student thought she had a sinus infection. She was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive cancer.

Breeze Hunter started disconnected her elder twelvemonth astatine Texas A&M University with a emblematic head cold. She lone started to interest erstwhile it lasted astir 2 months.

She was bushed each the time, her days dotted with shortness of enactment and headaches that she'd ne'er had before. Campus doctors told her she had a sinus infection that was apt prolonged from the accustomed busyness of being a full-time pupil and sorority member.

Her symptoms progressed. After a field doc pushed her to get bloodwork, she learned her levels were "all implicit the place," Hunter, 22, told Business Insider.

Days later, astatine the MD Anderson Cancer Center successful Houston, doctors confirmed that she had acute myeloid leukemia — a uncommon and much assertive signifier of the cancer. Abnormal achromatic humor cells turn astatine a accelerated pace, outnumbering steadfast humor cells.

"As soon arsenic we recovered out, we conscionable could not judge that it was really happening that I had cancer," Hunter said. "It's a precise scary moment, and it astir doesn't consciousness real."

Rushing to treatment

Hunter with her boyfriend. Breeze Hunter with her boyfriend.

Once she was diagnosed with leukemia, attraction began immediately. The archetypal circular of chemotherapy worked precise good — she went from a 95% blast, or percent of abnormal humor cells, to 7%.

To beryllium considered in remission, a idiosyncratic with acute myeloid leukemia indispensable person 5% oregon less blast cells successful their body. Hunter did a 2nd circular of chemo, 1 that was "way harder" than the first.

After that, she went consecutive into 11 days of radiation therapy connected her encephalon and spine. "It burned my tegument truly bad," she said. "It took a large toll connected my body."

'My 200 quadrate ft mansion'

Hunter successful her infirmary room. Breeze Hunter

The treatments took her distant from her field beingness — the archetypal chemo rhythm unsocial progressive a month-long enactment astatine the hospital. To walk the time, she started making TikToks astir her crab experience, including a viral video of her parodying MTV's "Cribs" by giving a circuit of her infirmary room.

Hunter, who didn't turn up watching the show, got the thought from her sister. They watched clips for the archetypal clip earlier Hunter took to the camera, sharing her makeshift closet and framed photos of her family.

Hunter leaned connected her family, boyfriend, and friends during this play of time. "When you're alone, you overthink things and you deliberation the worst of the worst," she said. "I ne'er had that happen, which is amazing."

Hunter with her brother, sister, and mom. Breeze Hunter

She besides connected with different young people with leukemia, including a erstwhile precocious schoolhouse classmate she utilized to cheerlead with.

"I inquire however she is astir each time and conscionable spot if she needs thing oregon idiosyncratic conscionable to speech to," Hunter said. "It is precise hard — we are truthful young and we're missing retired connected a batch of young big things."

A palmy compartment transplant

Hunter astatine the infirmary with her ma and sister aft her stem compartment transplant. Breeze Hunter

As of December, Hunter is successful remission.

Even so, Hunter needed a stem compartment transplant aft chemo and radiation to regenerate her crab cells with steadfast ones. Her member was a 100% donor match.

The transplant was completed successful January and was "definitely the hardest happening I've ever done," Hunter said. In her ongoing recovery, she said she mislaid a batch of value and developed mucositis, a communal inflammatory information that tin make aft crab treatment.

Now, she's dilatory gaining value backmost and hoping to turn retired her hair. Hunter's infirmary and doctors' visits person gone from regular to erstwhile a week.

Hunter with her fellow aft finishing her crab treatments. Breeze Hunter

Hunter, who continued to instrumentality online classes truthful she could retrieve astatine location with her family, received her grade successful cultivation enactment and improvement with economics connected May 9. She's excited to locomotion astatine graduation.

After that, she's going connected a abrogation with her household — thing she hasn't been capable to bash owed to being immunocompromised.

"Just going backmost to mean and being capable to bash mean things, I'm truly looking guardant to," she said.