A first-time mum has revealed how she endured gruelling chemotherapy treatment whilst she was four months pregnant. Victoria Hemmings-Slack, gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Gabriel, in May.
However, just 17 weeks into her pregnancy the 30-year-old was diagnosed with cancer on New Year’s Eve. She presumed her regularly becoming breathless was down to being pregnant, but she then started to experience night sweats, itchy skin and a pain in her chest.
Victoria booked an appointment for an x-ray in hospital where doctors discovered an 18cm butterfly shaped tumour on her chest. Doctors then found a lump in her neck and Victoria, from Newcastle, was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin lymphoma.
She is now in remission, but must undergo a further four rounds of chemotherapy, according to Stoke-on-Trent Live. Victoria, who works in marketing for the baby store Newbie and Me, said: “I’m a regular gym goer, I would go about four or five times a week, but when I got married last September I took about two weeks off the gym.
“I came back from my wedding and found I couldn’t catch my breath when I was working out, I thought it was strange because I’m in good shape and I didn’t understand. I went to the doctors who said they thought it was a chest infection and I had some antibiotics, but it didn’t clear.
“I then found out I was six-weeks pregnant and I thought that will explain why I’ve been getting out of breath. But my breathing then rapidly deteriorated, I couldn’t walk up the stairs without getting out of breath.
“My main symptoms were itchy skin, all over itching and night sweats, waking up at night sweating. When I’d lie down I could also feel something on my chest, it was horrible.”
Victoria endured five rounds of chemotherapy while she was pregnant with Gabriel. She says she is ‘so grateful’ that she didn’t have to make a decision between saving her or her baby and was able to undergo the life saving treatment while pregnant.
Doctors had planned for Gabriel to be born via a caesarean, but he came naturally at 35 weeks on May 7. He spent 18 days in the intensive care unit at Royal Stoke.
Victoria and her husband Craig named him Gabriel as they say he is their ‘angel’. Victoria said: “I never expected to have cancer, I’d just got married, moved into our first home and we were expecting our first child. It felt really perfect, it was a massive shock.
“I was really excited to be pregnant, but I only got to 17-weeks and then I found out I had this cancer and I was frightened of losing my baby all the time. I was worried I’d have a baby that wouldn’t remember his mum, I was worried I wouldn’t get through it.
“I was devastated at first, but I adopted a very positive attitude to it because crying won’t make me better. I was just so grateful to have this pregnancy and being able to have this treatment and I wasn’t having to make a decision of it’s me or the baby.
“But as much as I tried to enjoy my pregnancy, I was constantly worried about any reduced movements, constantly thinking what am I doing to my unborn child? It took me a long time before I started buying baby items or decorating his nursery as I was just so frightened of losing him.
“Luckily, my placenta protected him and he came naturally. I was meant to have a caesarean, as they didn’t want me to have a natural birth with a tumour on my chest, but I was told the chemo could induce him.
“He spent 18 days in the intensive care unit at Royal Stoke. He’s strong and gaining weight rapidly.
“I’m now classed as being in remission, but I’ve still got another four rounds of chemo to go. In total I will have had 12 rounds of chemo.
“It’s hard looking after a newborn while having chemo because I’m just physically exhausted now. It’s been the hardest part as every other week I have to spend six hours at the hospital having chemo, but the finish line is near.
“I was determined to get better and I appreciate life 10 times more now. I do class myself as lucky, I’m able to live my life after this cancer and I’ve got a beautiful child.
“For some people, the cancer takes that away from them.”
Victoria says the treatment she received at the Royal Stoke was ‘absolutely incredible’ and now wants to raise awareness of the Hodgkin lymphoma symptoms. She added: “I never thought I’d get cancer at such a young age and I’d never heard of lymphoma.
“It’s actually more common than you think. If I had noticed the lump in my neck, the cancer would have been caught earlier but I never checked my lymph nodes.
“As women we’re told to check our breasts, but check your lymph nodes too.”
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