An award-winning dancer from Croydon has taken to social media to urge people to “know their bodies” after being diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer.
Duval Jefferson Reid was first diagnosed with nodular lymphocyte-predominant hodgkin lymphoma in November last year following a two-year battle to get a diagnosis.
The condition is more common in men under 40 and, while highly treatable, the condition is not always curable, meaning it can return even after successful treatment.
Duval has used his platform to raise awareness about the disease, particularly among young Black men, highlighting the importance of listening to your body and seeking medical attention when something “feels off”.
The 26-year-old told Your Local Guardian that the first indication of his illness came in 2023, when he noticed a “large lump” on his neck.
“I noticed a lump behind my left ear, being a dancer, you immediately notice these things.
“I went to hospital and was put on antibiotics and the lump went down, but it never really went away.”
Despite repeatedly raising concerns with doctors over the following two years, Duval said the swelling was initially monitored rather than fully investigated.
During that time, he began experiencing ongoing symptoms including extreme fatigue, night sweats and unexplained weight loss, which he said he gradually came to normalise.
Duval said: “Looking back, it made me realise how much I’d normalised it, I adjusted to being unwell, I didn’t realise how far from normal my body had actually gone.
“We normalise things that really shouldn’t be normal.
“If something doesn’t feel right, you have to question it.”
After continued follow-ups and further tests, Duval was finally diagnosed in November, almost two years after first noticing the lump.
Duval, who has been dancing since university and has worked in a number of careers from choreography to teaching, has aspirations to work in reality TV and continue pushing his social media presence.
However, he has had to take a step back from his work as a freelancer whilst he undergoes treatment.
Prior to his diagnosis, Duval had been embarking on a career in dance, winning an award for best dancer from Fluid London and working alongside celebrities like Tyler, Tion Wayne, Stefflon Don, Miss Banks, and actors from Top Boy.
However, Duval told Your Local Guardian his ongoing goal since being diagnosed is to help others “know their bodies” and to “not normalise” being unwell.
With the help of his sister Dionne, Duval set up a GoFundMe page - gofundme.com/f/support-through-my-cancer-journey - in a bid to help raise vital funds to help support his recovery, whilst he undergoes a course of chemotherapy to treat the illness.
The pair aim to reach a goal of £27,600, with around £5,000 (18 per cent of the total needed) raised so far, to fund daily living expenses and any additional holistic treatments like supplements and dietary support.
Duval said: “I was a bit nervous to post the GoFundMe, but after posting about my journey online a lot of people wanted to help and setting this up seemed to be the easiest way to do it.”
Alongside posting and documenting his dancing career, Duval has also taken to his social media accounts like TikTok (@duvaljefferson) and Instagram (@duvaljefferson) to post about his ongoing cancer journey.
Duval told Your Local Guardian his goal for the future is to raise awareness of cancer in men who, according to cancer care charity Maggie's, are statistically less likely to seek medical advice.
He also wants to highlight how cancer symptoms can be normalised, particularly in physically demanding careers like dance, alongside the importance of being open and honest about illness, particularly in the Black community.
Duval explained: “I saw it as a way to let people know to invest in your health, because unfortunately I am one of the people that this rare cancer has impacted.
“So I thought posting my story would help, as if I don’t say anything, no one learns from it.
“If it helps even one person get checked, then it’s worth it.”
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