My 76-year-old mum was diagnosed with blood cancer this week and I’ve been reeling from the news ever since.
Cancer is a word nobody wants to hear, especially when it concerns a loved one – like the mother I love so dearly.
When I heard the doctor give her the diagnosis, I felt I’d been punched.
I wasn’t sitting with her but was listening live, as my sister had put the consultation on loudspeaker because only one member of the family was allowed at the hospital.
The doctor’s words were being translated into Urdu by an interpreter for my mum. I was moved by how caring she was when delivering the dreadful news.
There was silence – and then I could hear my mum crying. Thank God my sister was with her, and was able to hug her and offer words of comfort.
When you hear the word cancer, your mind automatically races to the worst-case scenario. You have so many questions – how bad is it, what’s the treatment, can she survive it?
My mum has follicular lymphoma, also known as FL. It’s described by lymphoma-action.org.uk as “the most common type of low-grade, non-Hodgkin lymphoma. About 2,200 people are diagnosed every year in the UK. It can develop at any age, but is more common in people over 60”.
When I began to understand how this cancer develops and starts presenting itself, it started to make sense about why my mum has, for the last five years, been moaning that there’s something not quite right about her belly.
According to lymphoma.org, the most common symptom of FL is a lump, or several lumps. My mum’s lumps were found in her tummy and groin area – as a result, both are swollen and painful. It was explained that the best way forward was chemotherapy.
Again, the word chemo strikes fear in us. But this is where I am so grateful to charities such as Lymphoma Action, which offers all the information needed to address people’s concerns.
Its booklet, given out at the hospital, includes case studies of patients and how they have coped – which have given us hope. It helped my mum to get her mojo and positivity back.
She said: “I’m not going to let this thing stop me, I’m going to get on with it and I’m going to be OK.” When people ask me where I get my determination from, it’s from my mum, who does not accept the word “can’t”.
I want people to know that cancer is not automatically a death sentence. With the advancement of science, there are so many successful treatments out there, adding years to a patient’s life.
