Doctors say Arlene Gorman, one of the B.C. to contract literiosis after eating contaminated meat from Maple Leaf Foods, could have died if she waited any longer to go to hospital.

"I was actually told that if I had waited until that evening to have come in or the day after it is possible that I probably would have died as well," the 29-year-old told CTV News.

Gorman, who lives in Cranbrook, B.C., says she started feeling ill in late June, and symptoms worsened quickly.

"I started having migraines and bad cramping and that was about two weeks before and then June 24th I started getting really bad migraines and cramps and started throwing up," she says.

"By the 26th, my fever was about 40 plus, my boyfriend said I was become delirious."

Gorman has Hodgkin's Lymphoma and was supposed to have undergone a bone marrow transplant in mid-July. Because of the listeria the transplant had to be re-scheduled to mid-September.

Gorman says the time spent fighting the effects of the tainted meat should have been spent fighting the cancer in her body.

"It was the last thing that I needed," she said.

"I wasn't expecting it at all and of all the people to get it, you know I had to get it."

The now recalled Maple Leaf products were widely distributed in B.C., especially in health care facilities. Experts are warning the number of illnesses is expected to grow.

"The main thing is if anybody's ill, especially pregnant women or seniors who are most at risk, and they are consumers of deli meats they should see their physicians right away and get their symptoms checked out," says Dr. Rob Parker of B.C.'s Interior Health Authority.

Arlene will undergo tests this week to determine if she's healthy enough to resume her fight against cancer. At this point, she is not sure if the listeria is 100 percent gone.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Stephen Smart.