A daughter who received the same diagnosis as her mother (the same type of cancer) has revealed the initial symptoms that suggested it might be something serious.
With only three years having passed since her mother, Melissa, was afflicted with the same cancer, Lucy Wiswould-Green, who is now 24 years old, was informed that she had Hodgkin lymphoma.
Lucy initially became aware that something was awry when she began experiencing an unexplained rash after drinking alcohol and when she began to feel physically exhausted more frequently than usual.
Subsequently, she became aware of a couple lumps in her neck, and an ultrasound revealed that she had one in her chest. Even at that time, Lucy did not consider it to be a significant matter because she was still in good enough shape to dance for twelve hours a day. It was in October when she first began experiencing symptoms, she explains. “Each and every time I had even a single drop of alcohol, I experienced night sweats and a large rash.
“I went to the doctor for the first time in January. I didn’t have any symptoms of illness, but I thought it would be best to go be looked out. Actually, the primary cause was exhaustion.
“I just felt more tired than usual, but as a dancer, it can be difficult to know where to draw the line,” she said. It wasn’t until the end of March that I became aware of the lumps that were present in my neck, and an ultrasound revealed that there was another lump in my chest.
“The one in my neck started to become a massive lump.”
Lucy reports that the initial results of the tests are negative, despite the size of the lump that she has in her neck.
“It was like a big golf ball, and I struggled to move my collarbone,” according to her description.
“I called the doctors the following morning and asked for a CT scan because I was still trying to come to terms with the outcome of the test.
According to Lucy, her mother had been experiencing a great deal of discomfort in the time leading up to her own diagnosis, and because she was still in good health, neither of them felt an excessive amount of concern.
“I was still dancing 12 hours a day, and I assumed I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I had cancer,” according to her explanation.
Lucy states that her thoughts instantly turned to how her mother would feel when she was informed that she had the same illness as her mother, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2019 and received the all-clear in 2020. Lucy’s mother was diagnosed with the disease in 2019.
“He [the doctor] started telling me what it was, but I already knew as I said my mother had gone through it,” she says of the moment she was diagnosed with the condition.
“I remember expressing that I wasn’t afraid of what I was about to go through; the only thing that was frightening was the thought that my mother would have to see me go through what she had gone through.
“She had survived all of that only to watch her daughter go through the exact same thing.”
Lucy was required to undergo treatment for a period of six months, which included chemotherapy, after she received her diagnosis. As a result, she was compelled to postpone her third year of study at the University of Salford.
Melissa, Lucy’s mother, accompanied her to each and every appointment, which, according to Lucy, had a significant impact on her ability to cope with the treatment.
“I can’t explain what chemo feels like, what the symptoms are, or how it makes you feel,” she says in her explanation.
“It’s not only that I’m sick and exhausted; it’s just that it’s terrible.
“However, when I was going through tough times and she [my mother] was there with me, she was well aware of how I was feeling.
“It was quite a relief, actually, because I didn’t have to try and explain what I needed.”
Lucy made the decision to collect money for the Teenage Cancer Trust by roller skating across a distance of 300 miles around her hometown of Lincoln while she was in the process of healing from her illness.
Her hair was donated, and she crafted over two hundred hand-painted Christmas cards for people who would be alone over the holiday season. She also participated in the Race for Life, which was held to raise money for Cancer Research UK.
“I was keen to do something physical, something that was going to be helpful to raise money for the charity but also help get me back to university in September,” according to her explanation.
“My doctor told me that I wasn’t going to be able to go back in September to do a full-time dance course and I was like, ‘Watch me.'”
As of right now, both Lucy and her mother have been given the green light. In addition, Lucy has graduated with a dance degree that is of the highest possible quality and has been awarded the excellent devotion award from the institution.
“I was not going to let it [the cancer] get the best of me,” according to her statement. “I was going to go back and finish my degree.”
A university dance lecturer named Sarah Jane Lockwood made the following statement in response to Lucy’s accomplishments: “She is an unstoppable force.”
“Before she became ill, she was an exceptional student who made the most of every opportunity that was presented to her, whether it was within the confines of the assigned coursework or through extracurricular activities.
“Throughout her time at Salford, she has immersed herself in the dance while also finding time to develop her musical interests and charitable activities.”
What is lymphoma?
Lymphoma is a type of cancer that typically begins in the lymph system, which is a component of the immune system of the body.
According to figures provided by the charitable organization Lymphoma Action, it is the most frequent form of blood cancer in the United Kingdom and the fifth most common kind of cancer in the country.
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma are the two classifications of lymphoma that are most commonly found.
Hodgkin lymphoma is a form of cancer that affects lymphocytes, which are a different kind of white blood cell. There is a distinct difference in the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma compared to other kinds of lymphoma.
Swelling of the lymph nodes, which typically occurs in the neck, armpits, or groin, is one of the most common and obvious symptoms of lymphoma.
Lymphoma is characterized by a number of symptoms, some of which are more general in nature. These include fever, shortness of breath, unexplained weight loss, and itchy skin.
If you receive a lymphoma diagnosis, the course of treatment you will take will depend on the type of lymphoma you have, your age, your general health, and how aggressive your illness is.
According to Cancer Research UK, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are both regarded as the primary treatments for Hodgkin lymphoma.
Among the several treatments available for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, chemotherapy, targeted medicines, steroids, radiation, and transplants are all potential options.