Everyone noticed the lump in Kodi's throat, but she ignored it for more than a year

Looking through photos from the summer she spent working at Disneyland, Kodi Brown can see the lump she ignored for so long.

"It was definitely noticeable," she tells 9honey. "People I worked with were like, 'What is that? Can I touch it?' I'm like, 'Yeah, it's just a lump, it's fine.'"

But it wasn't just a lump, and Brown wasn't fine.

READ MORE: Killer hidden in Sydney mum's car selfie was spotted by a hairdresser

Living and studying in the US in 2017, the young Queenslander had noticed some unusual symptoms like exhaustion and persistent throat infections, but put it down to being so busy.

There was also a small lump growing at the base of her throat, but the last thing she wanted to do was get it checked out in the nation with the highest healthcare costs in the world.

So Brown ignored it.

"It just kept growing, and I just kept ignoring it," she admits.

By the time she returned to Australia in 2018, it was nearly the size of a golf ball.

Worried, her mum booked her an appointment with their local GP, who ordered blood tests and a biopsy. Even then, Brown didn't think her symptoms were serious.

"I just had rose-coloured glasses on. I was oblivious to it all," she admits.

A few days later, the GP's office called and asked her to come back in. It was urgent.

Thinking she'd get the all-clear, Brown popped in on a 20-minute break between wrapping up at her internship and starting a shift at her part-time job. 

Seconds after she sat down in her doctor's office, the floor fell out from under her.

"I just zoned out the moment the doctors said, 'You have cancer'," she says.

"When you're young, you think you're invincible. Realistically, diseases like cancer don't discriminate."

At 21, Brown was diagnosed with Papillary Thyroid Cancer, the most common type of thyroid cancer on the planet. She would need surgery to remove her thyroid within a month.

The second she left the GP's office, she called her mum. Then Brown climbed into her car in a daze and drove to work.

Not long after, a valet found her parked across the road from her work, sobbing. Despite the horrific news, Brown wiped her eyes and went to her shift.

The next few weeks were a blur as she tried to come to terms with having cancer at 21.

READ MORE: 'When we saw the bill, we freaked out': Mum's horror after health battle

"When you're young, there's no real structure of how to tell someone you have cancer … it's very scary and it's very uncomfortable," she says.

A few weeks after diagnosis, Brown was wheeled into an operating room where surgeons ended up having to remove her entire thyroid and several lymph nodes.

She woke with a scar on her neck, rehab and speech therapy appointments on her calendar, and Radioactive Iodine Treatment scheduled for early 2019.

Though it only required her to spend four days in hospital, the treatment made Brown's whole body radioactive and she had to spend every second of those four days in total isolation.

"I was locked in. If someone knocked on the door, I had to go stand in the far corner of the room, and they'd be in the room for a total of a minute," she recalls. 

"I had to use disposable cutlery. I had to wash my hair several times a day to try and rinse the radiation out."

Even when she was discharged, Brown was banned from being close to her loved ones for weeks as the radioactivity wore off.

Those days were the darkest.

While everyone else her age was exploring the world, dating, and starting their careers, Brown could only watch from the sidelines. Her mental health plummeted.

READ MORE: Doctor's mistake with Mia's diagnosis wasn't discovered for 10 years

"You start comparing your life to people that don't have a diagnosis, but also people that do have a diagnosis," she says.

"My treatment wasn't chemotherapy, so I got to keep my hair [and] I was like, 'it's not valid if I do complain about my situation.'"

But she had no one to talk to about her fears; speaking to her family would only make them worry, and who among her friends could understand what it meant to be a cancer patient at 21?

Trapped in a cycle of comparison and fear, she finally picked up the phone and dialled six numbers. A stranger answered, and Brown unloaded.

That was the first time she called Cancer Council's support service (13 11 20) and found the understanding and support she had been so desperate for.

"It was a very freeing experience to get it off my chest," she says, "and the anonymity was a relief."

With support from organisations like the Cancer Council, Brown slowly came to terms with her own cancer journey and, after going into remission, she wanted nothing more than to give back.

Now 27, she's been cancer-free for years and wants to ensure other young cancer patients can access the support that helped her through her darkest days.

As an ambassador for Daffodil Day, she's using her story to empower other young people and urge everyday Aussies to donate whatever they can towards cancer research and vital support services.

READ MORE: A disturbing discovery in Vivienne's underwear changed her life

"Cancer's with you for life. It's with you via physical scars. It's with you via mental scars. It's a part of you," she says.

"That's why Daffodil Day is such a standout day for me. It's a sign of hope. There is brightness in the darkness."

For more information and to donate, click here.

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.