26-year-old Starbucks barista drank 8 espresso shots a day but still couldn’t stay awake — then doctors uncovered the life-changing reason
There's a certain pride in pushing through exhaustion. Many people see it as proof of resilience, especially when work or life demands more than they feel capable of giving. PEOPLE shared one such anecdote on Sunday, May 31, 2026. Starbucks barista Conor Mulvanerton, who goes by @conormulvanerton on TikTok, assumed his constant exhaustion was simply part of juggling work and life in his early 20s. Even eight espresso shots a day barely made a difference, but he kept pushing through until a life-altering diagnosis finally explained what his body had been trying to tell him
@conormulvanerton After many chemo and an auto stem cell transplant I am finally in a long term remission for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. #hodgkinslymphomaawareness #cancer #cancersurvivor #stemcelltransplant #lymphoma ♬ The Good Part - AJR
What made the situation especially puzzling was that the fatigue never seemed to improve, no matter how much caffeine he consumed. The New Jersey resident recalled waking up before dawn for his shifts and relying heavily on espresso throughout the day, only to return home and fall asleep with ease. Around the same time, he also began waking up in the middle of the night covered in sweat. It wasn't until an ultrasound discovered severely swollen lymph nodes that the true cause became impossible to ignore. On November 14, 2024, Mulvanerton was diagnosed with stage II Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer that affects the lymphatic system and would soon change the course of his life.
However, the struggle to stay awake wasn't the only early symptom he brushed aside. Night sweats became an unexpected issue during the summer of 2024. Since the episodes seemed random, it was easy to blame them on the summer heat. After all, who would immediately suspect something far more serious from a few nights of excessive sweating?
Around the same time, the 26-year-old was focused on building his future, having finally secured a temporary advertising role in New York after two years of searching. The opportunity felt like a long-awaited breakthrough, but his excitement was soon overshadowed by what he later described as "rare health issues" that made it increasingly difficult to function and ultimately led to a life-changing diagnosis.
The diagnosis marked the start of a long and exhausting fight. Although doctors initially reassured Mulvanerton that Hodgkin's lymphoma was one of the more treatable forms of cancer, the road ahead proved more difficult than anyone expected. Multiple rounds of chemotherapy placed a tremendous strain on his body, and when scans showed the cancer had not responded as hoped, he was forced to undergo additional treatment and eventually a stem cell transplant. The physical toll became so overwhelming that he had to turn down a full-time advertising position, a career opportunity he had spent years working toward. Even so, he found reasons to keep going.
The support of friends and family, along with the simple hope of returning to concerts and normal life, helped carry him through the hardest days. By December 2025, that perseverance paid off when a post-transplant scan revealed no signs of cancer. Stories like this resonate because almost everyone has ignored a symptom at some point, convincing themselves they'll deal with it later. However, Mulvanerton's journey serves as a reminder that persistence is admirable, but it shouldn't come at the cost of listening to warning signs that refuse to go away.