Gua Shua: Woman uncovers cancer diagnosis thanks to Gen-Z beauty tool

A 26-year-old used the viral massage tool on her face to sculpt a “skinnier” jawline in 2022. Photo / Getty Images

An estate agent came upon a life-threatening disease diagnosis after trying out this viral beauty craze.

In April 2022, Helen Bender, 26, was using the latest beauty hack - a gua shua massage tool - on her face in order to sculpt a “skinnier” jawline, when she found a bump under her skin for the first time.

Simultaneously, the beauty buff was losing weight at a rapid pace, which she said she “loved”, according to the Sun.

However, when the lump on her face continued growing, Bender became concerned.

She was soon diagnosed with stage four cancer.

“I remember having a blank stare on my face, it was such a blur,” said the estate agent.

She added, “I had my fiancé come and meet me at the doctor’s office. We were both crying.”

For five years, Bender had been in remission from a prior melanoma diagnosis, which she discovered after noticing a mole on her back.

Bender was having annual cancer check-ups, but had accidentally missed her appointment in 2022.

In 2018, more than 15,000 new cases of melanoma of the skin were reported in Australia. The estimated number in 2022 will most likely be around 18,000, according to Cancer Australia.

Melanoma is the most significant type of skin cancer due to its ability to spread around the body.

When receiving further scans, Bender was informed that the cancer had spread, with 20 tumours across her body. The cancer was not only found in her lungs, but also her digestive system.

@helenbender

TW: Large tumor and very unflattering photos of me :) #cancer #immunotherapy #dermatologist #doctorsoftiktok #skincare #sunscreen

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“I asked my doctor how long he thought I would have, and he said someone had come to him at a similar stage and they died in six weeks,” she recalls.

“I couldn’t tell my dad - it’s so hard to tell that kind of news to family members.

“So the doctor told my dad, and my dad told my mum and sister.

“They just hugged me and told me we were going to get through this,” she said.

In June, Bender began a course of immunotherapy at the Mitchell Cancer Institute in Alabama.

At first, the medication she was on would cause the tumours to swell, so much so that people would stop her in the street and tell her they would pray for her.

Helen revealed: “It was pretty painful on my jaw. The lump was pressing on a nerve and it got difficult to swallow.

“I had a really big tumour in my left thigh, about the size of my fist. It grew so huge that my muscles would ache so badly.

“I couldn’t go to the restroom for so long, as some were in my intestines [and] it was causing internal problems,” Bender added.

The estate agent’s tumours are no longer as painful as they had been now that the swelling has subsided. She reportedly feels optimistic about the future thanks to the treatment, which appears to be working.

“I have another year and a half of medicine, and they’re predicting I’ll go into remission in under two years,” Helen said.

“The one thing now that I always want to tell people is to go to your appointments,” she added.

Virginia Bender, Helen’s sister, has started a GoFundMe page so that people can help financially support the 26-year-old while she undergoes cancer treatment.