A new mum who was told she wouldn't be able to have a baby following her aggressive cancer treatment has spoken of the joy she felt when she discovered she was pregnant. Dizzy Dalton, from London, was devastatingly diagnosed with stage four lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, at the age of 25.
Her first round of chemotherapy failed to get rid of the cancer therefore she had to go down another route of treatment that could have seen her highly likely to become infertile - but it cured her. A year after being cancer-free, Dizzy thought she was experiencing an early menopause when her period stopped for three months, given what her body had been through and what doctors had warned about.
But after thinking it would never be possible, Dizzy has now shared her story of hope this Christmas following the birth of her 'miracle baby girl' and the gratitude she has for those that saved her life.
Dizzy's battle with cancer began in April 2018 when she found a lump in her neck.
Fortunately, her local health centre quickly referred her to The Royal Marsden Hospital in Chelsea, London, where she underwent three weeks of tests, scans, and biopsies.
She was then diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin Lymphoma and had no idea what to think.
Before starting her chemotherapy, she had fertility-preserving treatment, but having to consider so much about her future at a young age was hard to take in.
"I was only 25-years-old and all I could focus on were the negatives, it was all so scary," Dizzy, now 29, told the Mirror.
"Having to do fertility treatment at 25 when you're not really thinking about that aspect of your life is quite terrifying.
“Everything happened really quickly."
By June, she started her course of chemotherapy and felt lucky that she was able to tackle her illness head-on.
She was scheduled to have a scan in November to check the progress - which was one day before her 26th birthday party, so she also intended it to be her 'post-chemo' celebration.
However the scan showed that the cancer was still there.
Despite the bad news, Dizzy didn't let it get her down and she and her friends went ahead with the party as her way of taking back control.
"That was another truly terrible day, but we still went on to have the party the next day and danced all night long," Dizzy explained.
"We had an awesome time. It was ABBA-themed and everyone was on top form - everyone was so committed to having the best time and showing cancer who's boss."
Although she had fertility treatment as an extra precaution before starting chemo, when the treatment didn't work, she needed to have a second treatment which was a different type of chemo, followed by a stem cell transplant to be sure they could eradicate the cancer.
Dizzy was told that it was "very, very likely to cause irreparable infertility" but she had no other choice.
And during her treatment, she went through two months of a medically induced menopause - where her ovaries stopped functioning.
"I needed to get to 'no evidence of disease' on my scans before my stem cells could be harvested in order to undergo a stem cell transplant," she continued.
"My cancer cell count finally got to zero after two more months of treatment and I was able to have the stem cell transplant in March 2019.
"Before my first scan post-transplant, I got myself in a really dark place as I was in the headspace that the transplant hadn't worked and that the worst news was coming.
"But my women's intuition is clearly lacking because my scan showed no evidence of disease and I haven't looked back since."
It wasn't until a year later when she was in contact with her clinical nurse specialist during a routine checkup that she discovered the unimaginable had happened.
Dizzy was experiencing unusual symptoms and thought she was going through early menopause triggered by her cancer treatment.
"Jane [her nurse] was, and still is, my guiding light," Dizzy said. "She was the first person who made cancer seem manageable.
"It was because of her that I found out I was pregnant.
"I rang Jane when I was feeling anxious as cancer seemed to be rearing its ugly head again around me with lots of people I knew having tests.
"I was also experiencing some strange things in my body like not having a period for three months and feeling tired.
"It was so beyond the realm of possibility in my mind that I could be pregnant that I thought I was going through early menopause triggered by the stem cell transplant, which could well have been the case.
"I told Jane about these funny feelings and she told me to get a pregnancy test.
"I was in complete shock - lo and behold I was three months pregnant! I rang her straight back to tell her.
"She was such a sounding board and such a comfort to me. I couldn't believe it.
"I was so happy as I thought this would never happen for me, it felt like a miracle."
Dizzy gave birth to a healthy baby girl last September called Thea, who she now looks after full-time as a stay-at-home mum.
This month, the family took part in The Royal Marsden Hospital Cancer Charity's Christmas remembrance service to honour the work of the hospital and those who have lost loved-ones to the disease.
The Celebrate a Life event takes place every December, where patients and their families and staff have a chance to dedicate a star to someone on the Christmas trees outside their two hospital sites.
For Dizzy, she decided to dedicate a star to her precious daughter, who she never imagined she would be able to have.
"I decided to name a star after her because she is our little miracle baby," she explained.
"We are so lucky to have her, I really thought it would be impossible for me to ever get pregnant after my cancer diagnosis and all my treatment."
The mum-of-one added: "The Royal Marsden saved my life. They do such phenomenal work and are the reason we were able to bring Thea into this world and have her in our lives and I couldn't be more grateful."
To mark Dizzy's three-year anniversary of being cancer free this year, Dizzy's brother Fred took part in the Marathon Des Sables - an ultramarathon in the Sahara Desert - to raise money for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, where he raised over £30,000.
For more information on the The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity's events head to their website here and to make a donation, you can head to their website here .
Do you have a story to share? Please get in touch at webfeatures@trinitymirror.com
