'I was diagnosed with cancer twice in one year - but my drag queen alter ego saved my life'

A drag queen who received two cancer diagnoses in one year said the discovery of their ‘menace’ alter ego Shanika Sunrise saved their life during gruelling treatment. Jay Swinnerton, 26, was 19 when they were diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma – an uncommon cancer that develops in the lymphatic system – in March 2017.

The freelance artist, who lives in Manchester, underwent chemotherapy immediately. But when they were faced with the inevitable prospect of losing their hair, friends decided to buy them a “lilac wig with bangs” from Luvyababes in the Arndale shopping centre – and Shanika Sunrise was born.

Jay started “dolling (themself) up” using their mother’s make-up and every time they went to hospital for treatment, they put nail polish on and wore a “different eyeshadow make-up look” – which the nurses loved. Embracing their creativity and their alter-ego helped Jay to heal and get through the challenging experience, they said.

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Jay told PA Real Life: “I started to do drag and Shanika Sunrise was this product of my experience and this coping mechanism – I’d even go as far as to say a survival mechanism because it literally got me through my whole experience.” Good news came in September 2017 when Jay was told they had reached remission after having chemotherapy.

But in April 2018, almost exactly a year after being first diagnosed, they received the devastating news that they had relapsed and the cancer had spread. Jay trialled four different drugs, battled sepsis, and underwent a bone marrow transplant in February 2019, before finally reaching remission thanks to a new immunotherapy drug which had been approved on the NHS.