Young woman inspired to study medicine after teenage cancer diagnosis graduates as a doctor
A young woman who was inspired to pursue a degree in medicine after battling cancer herself as a teenager has celebrated achieving her dream career after graduating from Keele University.
Ellie Waters-Barnes, 25, was among the cohort of new doctors who graduated from Keele’s School of Medicine this week, and will be staying local when she starts her new role as a Foundation Doctor at Royal Stoke University Hospital later this summer.
Every student doctor’s journey to medical school is a challenging one, but Ellie’s was even more difficult than most.
When she was 14 she was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, and what followed was a gruelling 18 months of treatment including nine months of intensive chemotherapy, along with 28 sessions of radiotherapy.
But the ordeal had a transformative impact on her life in more ways than one, and it was during the course of her treatment that her dream of becoming a doctor started to take shape after being inspired by the many healthcare professionals and medical staff who were caring for her.
Ellie said: “I was diagnosed in my first year of GCSEs and consequently missed the whole year. I didn’t want my cancer to affect my GCSE results and prospects further down the line, so I made the decision to repeat Year 10. I coped with everything by throwing myself into studying and revising with my dream of becoming a doctor keeping me going.
“I realised after I finished treatment that I was watching a lot of medical documentaries and I was really interested in medicine and wanted to pursue this career. I’m thankful it’s led me on this path because I love helping people, it’s everything to me.”
That passion and drive led her to Keele University’s Medical School where she began her studies in 2021, and five years later she has now finished her degree and graduated alongside her classmates in the university’s summer graduation ceremonies.
Ellie said her unique experience has had a tremendous impact on her practice as a doctor, saying: “I sometimes worry if I will not be as good a doctor as some of my colleagues, as the effects of my treatment mean I still struggle physically; I get pains and I get tired more easily.
“But then another doctor said to me that that isn’t what patients care about. They care about your communication, your understanding, and you advocating for them, and I hope it makes me a better doctor for my experiences because I understand what their priorities are. I sometimes wish I didn’t feel as much as I do, but I think it’s my superpower; I understand what they’re going through.”
Ellie added that her experience had given her a unique perspective on how to overcome adversity, which she hoped would be inspiring for anyone going through similarly tough times.
Ellie said: “I always say to people that you cannot control what has happened, but what you can control is your attitude towards it; I don’t try and fight my limitations but I take them in my stride and use them for good. No matter what happens you can always pick yourself up and not let it get the better of you or define you. Take these problems in your stride, and remake them into something positive.”
