A mum who thought her sons were "tiring her out" during lockdown has been diagnosed with a rare cancer.
Tianna Campbell, from Gilmerton in Edinburgh, was told she had a type of Lymphoma on April 1, 2020.
The 24-year-old struggled to breathe properly and could not cope with her young boys before she was given the devastating diagnosis, the Daily Record.
To mark Mother's Day she wants to shine a light on living with cancer as a young person and how she has thrived during motherhood.
During the first lockdown she was told there was a 12cm tumour behind her breastbone which needed chemotherapy immediately plus 15 rounds of radiotherapy.
The mum-of-two, was treated at the Western General and was on a Teenage Cancer Trust unit with young people her own age.
Throughout her treatment, she had to entertain her children and found it hard to keep shielding.
Tianna told EdinburghLive : “As I’m a single mum and my dad lives in Spain and my sister works a lot, I had to find ways to cope alone and keep my children entertained, whilst trying to look after and shield myself from the pandemic.
"I would often drive over to my grandma’s house where there was a path to a beach from her back garden and I would sit and watch my sons play with their grandparents, whilst giving me time to close my eyes and rest.
“On some days I just wanted to sleep all day and not have to worry about anyone else, but motherhood doesn’t allow for that to happen, I had to keep going for the sake of my children.”
During Tianna’s cancer treatment, one of the hardest things for her was losing her hair as she was worried her children wouldn’t know who she was or want to come near her.
Thankfully, they adjusted and gave her lots of support during a tough time.
On her son’s reaction, Tianna said: “My sons have helped me through cancer, even though they are still young, they are my purpose in life.
"If I didn’t have them, I wouldn’t have fought cancer as hard as I did.
"It will always be at the back of my mind that I could relapse, or the cancer could come back in years to come but I tell myself to live each day as it comes and make many memories with my children, friends and family.”
Recently Tianna has fundraised for Teenage Cancer Trust by doing a sponsored skydive to help raise vital funds for the charity.
The money raised will go towards the continuation of our specialised hospital units which help to support young people with cancer by things such as activities whilst they are going through treatment.
The units also offer specialised care and support throughout treatment from nurses and youth support coordinators.
On the skydive, Tianna said: “The skydive for Teenage Cancer Trust was amazing, my sons were at the bottom cheering me on which was so heart-warming.
"It was also a great opportunity to give back to the charity that helped me so much through everything I went through.”
