Cancer survivor reveals baby joy
Ceri beats odds with pregnancy as she thanks RUH
It shows that even amidst really difficult times, a beautiful thing can take you by surprise. Ceri Calonmor
A woman has spoken of her recovery from cancer and the miraculous pregnancy that followed, despite being told she would not be able to conceive.
Ceri Calonmor, 33, from Bath, was diagnosed with stage 4B Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 30.
She had been suffering horrendous back pain for months and been given varying diagnoses before the cancer was discovered.
Ceri has credited her husband Barney Calonmor, 31, and mum and dad Julia and Glyn Jenkins, along with NHS staff, for getting her through.
Ceri said: “It all started when I got back pain in March 2018. To begin with it wasn’t so bad, I’d just started back at the gym so I thought that must be it.
“But eventually it got very bad and just wouldn’t go. I had a variety of diagnoses from a slipped disc to arthritis over the course of seven months. I saw a series of specialists as the pain was increasing more and more. By the end of the few months I was genuinely suicidal I was in so much pain.”
Ceri continued: “I went back to my GP to talk about the severe back pain. Dr Daniella Calandrini saw me and she said she thought it was time for a blood test as none of the specialists had been able to help. “That blood test saved my life. “They found markings that showed something wasn’t quite right and I went for an MRI scan at the Royal United Hospital in Bath.”
The results of the MRI showed growths on her lower spine, pelvis and right hip and a biopsy confirmed it was Hodgkin lymphoma.
Ceri said: “I got told it was stage 4B which is the final stage and that I needed to start chemo very quickly.”
Hodgkin lymphoma is an uncommon cancer that develops in the lymphatic system, which is a network of vessels and glands spread throughout your body.
Ceri continued: “My wonderful parents moved to Bath, rented a flat and dropped everything to come and help me. I had my partner Barney too, he’s now my husband but he was incredible. I know without him I wouldn’t be here today.
“He is a biomedical scientist at the RUH and supported me through all of it. He helped me shave my head and he was so caring through it all. I can’t do justice to how wonderful my family have been.
“I had the help of his mum Tracey Miles and her partner Nick Johnson, who both helped me beyond words.
“I got given a fantastic oncologist called Dr Chris Knechtli, who genuinely became a friend. All of the nurses were fabulous too. Going to chemo was like going to your favourite bar to see all your mates but the drinks happened to be horrible.
“I had six months of debilitating treatment before I got the news that I was in remission in January 2019.”
Ceri has said she had no idea her symptoms could be cancer as she hadn’t put them all together before.
She said: “The back pain drove me to the edge and caused me to get help but I was already dealing with the problem of having persistent itchy feet and lower legs.
“At the time I thought I was reacting to an environmental factor, so we changed our washing detergent, sheets, everything. But it’s actually a common symptom of lymphoma.”
She said she was also suffering fatigue, easily coming down with colds and other infections and had lost weight.
“If I had known to look out for these things maybe my diagnosis wouldn’t have been so late. Another common one is a persistent cough, or feeling breathless. I didn’t have this as my cancer wasn’t in my chest, it was in my bone structure.
“If I can make one person go to the doctor to get something checked out it would be so good.”
Ceri, who is now studying for a PHD at London School of Economics, said she feels very lucky to be here today.
Due to her cancer treatment Ceri was told she wouldn’t be able to get pregnant without an egg donor but, despite the odds, earlier this year an amazing thing happened.
Ceri said: “I had been told by a fertility expert that there was no chance really for me to get pregnant naturally. But as girls we do know the signs so I just thought I’d do a test as I had an inkling something was different.
“It shows that even amidst really difficult times, a beautiful thing can take you by surprise.”
Another lovely surprise was when partner Barney proposed at the end of her cancer treatment.
Ceri is now 13 and half weeks pregnant and is being cared for by the RUH once more.
She said: “I’m high risk so I’m back in the hands of the RUH again. They saved my life during the worst time before and now they’re looking after me again at a lovely time, again we’ve come full circle.”
Ceri has written a candid blog about her journey with cancer at https://bit.ly/3k2djkk