If you spend any amount of time on TikTok, you realize that there are many videos meant to enhance our life in some way or another. This includes some unique tips, usually called hacks in the beauty category.

When 26-year-old Helen Bender used one of these beauty hacks on her face, she noticed something that didn't belong. She shared on TikTok that a Gua Sha massage tool helped her recognize the lump on her jawline. After looking into it, she was diagnosed with stage IV cancer.

Photo: Pexels/Polina Kovaleva

According to Healthline, Gua sha is a Chinese technique that has been used for millennia. It helps to boost circulation and smooths the face by reducing inflammation.

Plenty of videos on TikTok talk about this technique and how it has made a difference in how people look and feel. Bender decided to try it for herself, but when she noticed the bump, it raised some alarms.

At first, she didn't worry too much about the lump because it didn't hurt. She had cancer before but was in remission for five years.

Photo: TikTok/@helenbender

According to The Mirror, she said: "I get sick a lot with colds and stuff, so I thought at first it was just a swollen lymph node. I didn't think much of it [the neck lump] because it didn't hurt, but it just kept getting bigger, so I went to the dermatologist."

The dermatologist wanted her to visit an oncologist. She had missed an appointment a few months previous. After getting the appointment, she had a lung x-ray and a follow-up scan, but then she left for Italy on vacation.

She started to worry while on vacation because something didn't seem right. She noticed another lump on her clavicle, making her think it might be spreading.

Photo: TikTok/@helenbender

After getting home, she had a full body scan and was told she had stage IV cancer. They called her within an hour of having the scan and asked her to come in immediately because it was urgent.

The PET scan showed that she had tumors on her pancreas, both lungs, in her intestines, and elsewhere in the body. At first, she said it was just a blur when they told her, but it was 20 lumps and had spread.

Bender said that the most challenging part was telling her family the news. Her fiancé got the call first and came to the doctor's office to help her figure out how to tell the family.

Photo: TikTok/@helenbender

She had difficulty telling her father, so the doctor told him for her. His dad told her mother and sister.

Bender started some immunotherapy immediately and felt positive that her body was responding. There's a 50% chance it could work, and it seems to be effective so far.

One difficult aspect has been the side effects of the medication. It causes some parts of her body to swell, and even strangers have stopped her to say that they would pray for her.

@helenbender TW: Large tumor and very unflattering photos of me :) #cancer #immunotherapy #dermatologist #doctorsoftiktok #skincare #sunscreen ♬ Pieces (Solo Piano Version) - Danilo Stankovic

According to the Daily Mail, it has been seven months that Bender has been in treatment. She has another 18 months to go, and doctors feel she should be in remission in less than two years.

She spoke about how it is working well and that it doesn't have the same effects as chemotherapy. In the end, she gives the advice that people should not miss their appointments.