A woman has disclosed the three important indications that she ignored before to receiving a stage 4 cancer diagnosis.
London, UK-based content producer Georgie Swallow was only 28 years old when she was devastated to learn that she had stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma and that her cancer treatment had caused an early menopause, which prevented her from becoming pregnant.
But she claimed that for over a year and a half, she disregarded numerous warning indications, thinking she was simply worn out and under stress.
She didn’t comprehend how ill and terrible her situation was until the doctors gave her the diagnosis.
She explained: “After being off work for about two weeks with a serious bout of flu I went into the office and whilst at my desk discovered a peach sized lump in the side of my neck.”
“Even then I wasn’t too worried because I just never even contemplated there would be anything serious wrong with me, naively.”
Georgie dismissed her symptoms and expressed concern that she was “wasting everyone’s time” by seeing the doctor.
In an effort to help others, Georgie, who is now 32, has disclosed that the illness and its torturous treatment have negatively impacted her physical and mental well-being. She is also disclosing the three primary symptoms of lymphoma that she chose to ignore.
Itchy legs, nocturnal sweats, and general fatigue were the three symptoms she suffered with the most.
She explained: “I would itch until I broke the skin which would keep me up all night. I went to the doctor and they thought it could be stress, allergies or urticaria but no cream or lifestyle change would make it go.”
“During this time I was losing weight, having night sweats, constantly exhausted and a never-ending stream of colds and flus but I just thought I was on the go too much and wearing myself out.”
She also mentioned that lymphoma symptoms can be rather mild, which is why the cancer is sometimes discovered so late “because you can brush the symptoms off as other things,” she said.
Another consequence was that Georgie experienced early menopause, which she compared to being “hit by a bus.”
She continued: “Cancer can take quite a lot away from you but having my fertility taken before I’d had a chance to have children was difficult.”
“The menopause at any age can be difficult, but at 28 I didn’t have anyone my age to talk to about it.”
“None of my friends understood what I was going through, and as supportive as they were, it’s hard to comfort and relate to something you don’t understand.”
Now, Georgie is putting a lot of effort into spreading knowledge about the primary signs of cancer and the negative effects early menopause can have on mental health.
