Hello and welcome to my story. I was 11 years old the first time I heard about cancer. My maternal grandfather had lung cancer. Unfortunately, he left it to late and developed secondary cancer. I remember my mother being inconsolable and a little angry with my grandfather for not seeing a doctor sooner.
Over the years i overheard numeral conversations, family members telling each other about friends or extended family who had been diagnosed with cancer. So i suppose i grew up being accepting of the disease and it's varying forms.
It was December 1998.I Was 26-years-old And heavily pregnant with my 3rd child. I had a phone call from a close friend of my mother's to say that my mum had woke up in unbearable pain that appeared to be in the groin area and she had sent for an ambulance. Within an hour of being in hospital my mother was rushed to surgery. Her lymph gland was severely swollen. When they removed the gland it had 17 lymph nodes on it and was sent to pathology for a biopsy. My mum received a phone call on Christmas eve asking her to go for a consultation with an oncologist. She was diagnosed with non hodgkins lymphoma and would need chemotherapy.
My mother received 9 blocks of CHOP chemotherapy. She lost every hair on her body and was at times very sick. There was certain times during treatment that no one could go near her, as she had no immune system. My remained strong and positive through the whole process and after the nine months, was given the news that she was in remission.
Seven and a half years had gone by and i received a letter. An appointment to see a consultant at gynecology. Id gone for my regular pap smear and the result had come back abnormal. I was scared. I phoned my mum and she reassured me that I would ok and i wasn't to worry.
Ten days later and I attended my appointment with my mother by my side. I was told that my smear had shown C1-C2 Cell Change And I would need a biopsy. The biopsy was done there and then. I had some liquid applied to my cervix that would change colour on any abnormal cells. Sure enough, my skin changed from pink to greyish white and there was a clustering around the neck of my cervix. The consultant took the decision to treat there and then, rather than wait for biopsy results. So the cells were burned away (i can't remember the correct term) and a deep core biopsy was done.
Two weeks later I was back at gynecology with my mother for the results.C2-C3 cell change and I had tested positive for the HPV virus. The treatment i received on the day was successful but i would remain under the care of gynecology for ten years. I had a few scares over the years with results coming back as borderline- C1 Cell Change but never required any treatment.
About 4 years later, my mum found a lump in her breast. She was still seeing the oncologist even though she had been in remission for ten years plus. This was because her tumor tracers kept coming back positive, and despite nuclear scans being done, no tumors had been found. So, she was booked in for surgery, where she had half her breast removed and 7 lymph nodes taken off the lymph gland under her arm. After she had healed, she had 6 weeks of radio therapy, 5 conservative days with the weekend off. I was with her every step of the way.
This cancer was not the cause of her tumor tracers coming back positive as to this day, they are still coming back positive.
January 2016, after a very short illness, i lost my father in law to a secondary cancer. Within ten days he has left us and I stayed by his side the whole time. He was 83 and in no pain as the cancer had travelled to his central nervous system. He couldn't feel anything from the waist down. My father in law passed on the 4th and three days later my father was admitted to hospital with severe abdominal pain and he was yellowish in colour. He was diagnosed with a secondary and lost his life on the 25th of January.
My dad had been diagnosed with a low grade melanoma just inside his nose 7 years prior, and told none of us. He had refused any further consultations and any surgery or treatment. We were left devastated and distraught. He was 64 years old.
In September that year, i asked my partner to look at my back. It felt like id been bitten by an insect as i had an itchy lump in the middle of my back. My partner agreed it looked like a bite but there was nothing to suggest it was infected. Two weeks passed and I asked for the lump to be looked at again and if possible for my partner to squeeze it ( i react badly to insect bites and nearly always, they have to be squeezed as they fill with pus) .
My partner looked at me and asked me to have my gp look at it because he said it didn't "look right ". He asked me again two weeks later if I had made an appointment and I hadn't. I managed to blag his questions until January this year when it began to itch again. I reached up my back with my thumb and noticed what felt like a flaky scab. As soon as I touched it, it began to bleed. I made an appointment with my GP and was fast tracked to dermatology.
I kept it from my mum and my children. I felt they had been through enough lately. I went with my partner to my appointment and had an excision biopsy the same day. It took 8 weeks for the results and I had to be aware of covering my back so my mum and my children didn't notice the stitches or the scar.
Eight long weeks passed and I had an appointment come in the post. I went with my partner and was given the news that I had basal cell carcinoma, sub type nodular, and my biopsy had come back positive with deep margins, and i would need a surgery. This was performed there and then. I had a deep excision and needed 5 stitches. I started to cry while having the procedure because i knew that I had to tell my mother and children.
It took me a further 4 days to tell my family. My mum was a little cross with me but fully understood my reasons. In protecting them, i isolated myself, which in turn made my experience tougher. Two weeks later I was called in for my results. They were negative with a 1mm surgical margin. So there is a high chance of it returning in that area.
So where am I on my journey today.
Im healing well and taking good care of my skin. Avoiding strong sunlight and using factor 30 uva and uvb sun cream on arms and legs and factor 50 on face, hands, feet and ears. My partner is checking my back every Sunday.
However, i have a small red bump on my nose. It appeared early January this year and hasn't gone. It's dome shaped with what looks like a whole in the middle. Over the last week or so, i have noticed a pitted area to the side of the bump. Looks like a scar, but I've never had a scar on my nose.
So it's back to my GP and probably back to dermatology for a biopsy, only this time, i will have my mother and my partner supporting me. I will keep you posted.
