I thought I just had morning sickness, but it was symptom of cancer
Pregnant school teacher, 24, had golf ball sized lump on her neck
and
A PREGNANT primary school teacher’s morning sickness actually turned out to be a symptom of cancer.
Caitlin Mcalinden,
24, attributed her nausea, fatigue and a lump the size of a golf ball on her neck, to expecting a child.
But after she lost two stone over a four-month period, medics referred her to their haematology team. This led to a neck biopsy last month which uncovered stage one Hodgkin lymphoma.
Caitlin is poised for a full recovery and is taking daily steroid injections and a blood thinner. Once her son is born on May 8, she will undertake a four-week chemotherapy treatment plan.
The mum-to-be said: “This isn’t the pregnancy I was hoping for, I haven’t felt well this entire time.
“Everything I want to do after my baby is born has to be put on pause due to the chemo.
“My odds are really good, but having my baby will be a good distraction for everything I’m going through.”
Caitlin found out she was pregnant on
September 16 last, after feeling nauseous at her birthday dinner where she lives in
England.
From the onset, her first trimester was turbulent.
She suspected she was battling an extreme form of morning sickness as she would vomit at least once daily and nod off sporadically.
But it wasn’t until Christmas Day she first noticed the pain in her neck and after weighing herself, noticed she’d lost two stone. She
said: “I went back to Co Armagh to visit my family for Christmas.
“I remember Christmas Day, falling asleep on the sofa and waking up with a really sore neck.
“I thought I’d just slept funny, but I started massaging my neck.
“That’s when I found a lump, about the size of a pea.”
Caitlin didn’t want to see a GP at first, believing the lump was just another “weird” pregnancy symptom.
But in just a week, her tiredness became worse and the pea-size lump tripled in size.
She added: “I was so, so tired. Walking up the stairs alone would make me need to go for a lie down. I felt my neck again one day and the lump had become golf ball-sized.” Her partner, Connor, 27, a procurement manager, told Caitlin she needed to see a doctor as soon as possible.
She visited her GP on January 2 and was referred for an ultrasound on her neck. They gave her a biopsy on
January 16 and the clinician asked Caitlin if she had any family history of Hodgkin lymphoma.
She told them one of her second cousins had gone through it years before and they urgently sent her for more blood tests.
Caitlin was first diagnosed with stage one Hodgkin lymphoma on March 12 and began a steroid treatment to reduce the neck mass.
Although her cancer is treatable, the impending chemotherapy will prevent Caitlin from embracing cherished moments after her tot arrives.
She added: “I really wanted to breastfeed, but chemo is stopping me from doing that, too.”
I was so, so tired. Walking up the stairs alone would make me need to go for a lie down CAITLIN MCALINDEN ON HER FATIGUE BEFORE HER DIAGNOSIS WITH CANCER