Liam

I was 27 when I received my diagnosis of Stage 2 classical Hodgkin lymphoma In November 2023. My world, and that of my family, came crashing down around us. I had two holidays booked in December, one to celebrate bringing in the New Year on the beach in Lanzarote. These were ripped from me and I was in a state of despair. 

Looking back, I had a number of symptoms which began in the spring of 2023, but it was a while before I sought medical advice. It started with a relentless itch, head to toe all day and night in April 2023. I simply put this down to hay fever. I also had night sweats, which I put down to coming into summer time and I was just warm in bed! In addition, I had a cough, but I'd put that down to being a smoker at the time (I’ve now quit!). I never put all these together and thought it would be cancer, I hadn't even heard of lymphoma!

It wasn't until I found a lump in my armpit that didn't go away after many weeks that I thought something might be wrong and that’s what led to my diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma.

I began chemotherapy the week before Christmas, and had a reaction on my first day, leading to me being hospitalised. Luckily I got over this pretty quickly and then the actual chemo itself was, as much as chemo can be, plain sailing. The side effects were well managed with anti sickness, however I was exhausted ALL the time. 

My main piece of advice to anyone going through chemo is to listen to your body, don't push yourself, and rest when you need to. My main struggles were being hospitalised multiple times throughout my cycles of chemo with neutropenic sepsis, including over the New Year. I rang in midnight isolated and alone instead of on the beach in Lanzarote!

Despite this, I responded extremely well to the chemo as my consultant had predicted. My treatment of escBEACOPdac is apparently the 'silver bullet' for Hodgkin lymphoma and I certainly believed him 3 weeks after chemo when my main lump in my armpit had all but disappeared!

Cut to May 2023 and I received the all clear and thought that this is brilliant, my cancer journey is at an end! But unfortunately I was wrong, I feel I rushed back into life too soon, burning the candle at both ends as my mother would say. I didn't take into consideration the lasting impact that chemo would have on my body, and the mental effects it would have on me after finishing. 

Realising that you have been through something so traumatic led me to go into a depression, as I found myself not able to do all the things I used to love. This is where charities like Lymphoma Action and Macmillan have been extraordinary in my recovery. Between Lymphoma Action Facebook group and Macmillan's counselling service, I have learned to accept my past and how to cope with the low days and take these in my stride.

I want to share with everyone that there is no wrong way to feel about your experience - everyone's is different. There is no right or wrong way to deal with a diagnosis and treatment for lymphoma. Listen to your body, listen to your mind, and you will get there.