Love can be a really strange thing: It's amazing how quickly one, when faced with a situation like this, tries to analyse whether you could be to blame. Did we miss a symptom, did we overlook a sign and and .. Well the answer is YES and NO. Yes there were signs and symptoms yet no because they were not according to 'the book' and no because who in their 'normal minds' associates fatigue with cancer and to add to this, we could not look for 'the signs of the book' if you have never even seen or heard of the book.
The Main Signs and Symptoms
Hodgkin's lymphoma signs and symptoms may include:
- Painless swelling of lymph nodes in your neck, armpits or groin
- Persistent fatigue
- Fever and chills
- Night sweats
- Unexplained weight loss — as much as 10 percent or more of your body weight
- Coughing, trouble breathing or chest pain
- Loss of appetite
- Itching
- Increased sensitivity to the effects of alcohol or pain in your lymph nodes after drinking alcohol
Painless swelling of lymph nodes in your neck, armpits or groinNO - The tumor was in her chest area between her lungs - only visible on CT Scan
Persistent fatigueYES and NO - The fatigue was not persistant but it was more than usual. In February this year we took her for a Full Blood Count test and the results showed 'normal'. She was at the peak of her rowing season and was training really hard so we wrote it off as 'training too hard'.
Fever and chills
None
Night sweats
YES and NO - Even on a cool evening she would sleep with her fan on because she gets too hot while she sleeps. There was no profuse sweating and she spent a good 3 to 4 hours a day on the water so we attributed her 'getting too hot' to a dash of sunburn.
Unexplained weight loss — as much as 10 percent or more of your body weightNo and No - in fact she gained weight.
Coughing, trouble breathing or chest pain
Yes - Here was the golden ticket but after a medical examination and a 'healthy' Full Blood Count we again wrote this off as 'training too hard'. She lost her position in three provincial races because she said that her peck muscles got sore and she felt short of breath. After collapsing at the SA Rowing Championships, both paramedics and doctors believed it to be dehydration and treated her accordingly.
Loss of appetite
NOOOOO - Kirstin loves her food especially chicken burgers, chocolate and the alpha and omega is Milo or anything that looks, smells or resembles Milo.
ItchingYes - on the odd occasions she would complain that her skin was itchy. The dams in which she rows are, well lets just say that I would not swim in them so any itching was blamed on the dam water and resolved by a Dettol bath and a moisturising cream.
Increased sensitivity to the effects of alcohol or pain in your lymph nodes after drinking alcohol
Last but not least is the most interesting: In August 2010 we were on holiday in the Kruger National Park when she asked to try alcohol. We ordered her a Strawberry Dacorie (no idea how you spell that) and after drinking it she started coughing and saying that it was burning her chest. At a later date she tried a drink again and the day after she again complained that her lungs get sore after she drinks alcohol. She even went so far as to ask whether we thought she was allergic to alcohol. AND what do you think we as parents did secretly - we got all excited over the idea that our daughter could not handle alcohol and hence would never be a drinker and we would not have to spend nights awake wondering if she was drunk and passed out somewhere.
No comments:
Post a Comment