Hey guys!
I had such an incredible response from my first blog post and that made me so happy. I had multiple people message me to say that just from that post, I had helped them and also said that they could tell that I'm going to help SO many people from this blog which is my aim!
This blog post is the first half of my cancer story. I was going to put the whole thing so far up but it is WAY too long, haha! I'm extremely nervous about putting this up but I know that once I do, I'll be able to help more and more people because they will know MY story. So, here goes!
At the time of my diagnosis I was 15. I and was living life as a normal teenage girl. I was going to school and was preparing for my GCSE's. I was going to start college in a few months in the hope to be an oncology nurse. I used to argue with my siblings nonstop, but from the moment I was diagnosed, everything changed.
On the 16th of April, 2011, I was moving house. My mum asked me to lift a heavy box and put it into the back of the van, as I lifted it, I got an awful pain around my collar bone and in my chest. My mum said I had probably just pulled a muscle so I left it, thinking nothing of it. Days went by and it started getting worse. Blue veins were appearing around the lump and I just knew there was something wrong as it’s not often that I moan about pain.
Around 3 weeks later, I had a routine checkup at the doctors booked anyway. The doctor noticed the blue veins and swelling and questioned me about it. I didn't expect to be in there for as long as I was. After 45 minutes of being poked and prodded he finally stopped. He said that he had found a lump in the top of my neck. I was confused at this point as the lump was over my collar bone. He referred me to my local hospital for scans. He booked blood tests for the next day, I attended but nothing showed.
The doctor’s appointment was on the Tuesday, by the Thursday, I had a rough idea on what was going on.
I arrived at the hospital for an X-ray and I was told that the results of it would be back within 7-10 days, so when they came back immediately, it’s safe to say that I was frightened. They sent me for an ultrasound, and after that, the nightmare began, I was admitted to hospital.
It all happened so fast, but I also had a CT scan that day too. By the Monday, I had an appointment at The Royal Marsden Cancer hospital.
From then, everything was such a blur. On the 24th of May, it was confirmed. I sat there. Shocked. Confused. Stunned in to silence.
No tears come. No words either. Just disbelief.
Disbelief and fear at what the future would hold. It took two words to make me feel as if the world was against me. Two words to change everything: a relationship, a family, and more importantly, my life.
"It's cancer."
I had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Ewing Sarcoma. It started at the top of my neck and finished just below my left breast. It had collapsed my left lung.
On the 27th, I had a biopsy of the tumour, 2 different types of bone marrow tests, fluid taken off of my lung and a Hickman line fitted. Treatment after that started almost straight away.
Telling people was very hard, even my closest friends. I didn't want to accept the situation, let alone share it. How do you explain to someone that you have cancer? It sounds like a simple thing to do, but once others believe it then you also have to. People react in different ways. My closest friends were so supportive but I found it really difficult to let them see me the way I was.
Dealing with school and friends was very hard in the first few months. Having the time to even think about my GCSE's and go out and socialise wasn't easy. I couldn't concentrate on anything and I couldn't learn anything new with this massive problem filling every inch of my head.
Just a few days later, I started the long fight for my life. I completed 15 sessions of chemotherapy and 32 sessions of radiotherapy (every day for 7 weeks).
Chemotherapy dragged by, making me feel weak, sick and very tired. My first course of Chemo was called VIDE. Vincristine, Ifosfamide, Doxorubicin and Etoposide (If you want to know what each of them does, you can look them up on Google). I had 9 rounds of this course of Chemo, I would be in hospital for 4 days. I would be attached to a drip all the time, with only having an hour off each day. This was a very intense and strong course of chemotherapy, meaning that when I actually got to go home, I would have around 5 days before I went neutropenic and infections started to kick in. I would be admitted to my local hospital where I would spend the next week on IV antibiotics as being neutropenic meant I couldn't fight infections on my own. Once I came home from my local hospital, I would have 3-4 days where I could try and be as 'normal' as possible before I had to go back up to London for my next round of chemo. That was my life for 7 months. This course affected me so much, to the point where I had to stop having the Vincristine as I was struggling with simple tasks like walking.
Once I had finished VIDE, I went on to have 6 rounds of another course. Unfortunately they had to change my last round completely as tests showed that my kidneys were really struggling.
I started to lose my hair on the 27th of June 2011, followed by my eyelashes, then my eyebrows. I looked like the children I had seen on children's hospital appeal adverts, I used to shy away from them, not look and feel guilty. But now, I was faced with the real thing. I done everything I could to keep my hair, but I understood that things had to get worse before they could get better, and I just had to be brave.
I didn't have any operations to remove my tumour the first time round. My tumour was wrapped around my jugular and nerves for my left arm. My doctors were worried that if I had it removed, I would struggle with the use of my arm.
I also had radiotherapy in the October that would last for 7 weeks where my mum had to drive me from Brighton to Sutton every day.
On the 16th of April, 2011, I was moving house. My mum asked me to lift a heavy box and put it into the back of the van, as I lifted it, I got an awful pain around my collar bone and in my chest. My mum said I had probably just pulled a muscle so I left it, thinking nothing of it. Days went by and it started getting worse. Blue veins were appearing around the lump and I just knew there was something wrong as it’s not often that I moan about pain.
Around 3 weeks later, I had a routine checkup at the doctors booked anyway. The doctor noticed the blue veins and swelling and questioned me about it. I didn't expect to be in there for as long as I was. After 45 minutes of being poked and prodded he finally stopped. He said that he had found a lump in the top of my neck. I was confused at this point as the lump was over my collar bone. He referred me to my local hospital for scans. He booked blood tests for the next day, I attended but nothing showed.
The doctor’s appointment was on the Tuesday, by the Thursday, I had a rough idea on what was going on.
I arrived at the hospital for an X-ray and I was told that the results of it would be back within 7-10 days, so when they came back immediately, it’s safe to say that I was frightened. They sent me for an ultrasound, and after that, the nightmare began, I was admitted to hospital.
It all happened so fast, but I also had a CT scan that day too. By the Monday, I had an appointment at The Royal Marsden Cancer hospital.
From then, everything was such a blur. On the 24th of May, it was confirmed. I sat there. Shocked. Confused. Stunned in to silence.
No tears come. No words either. Just disbelief.
Disbelief and fear at what the future would hold. It took two words to make me feel as if the world was against me. Two words to change everything: a relationship, a family, and more importantly, my life.
"It's cancer."
I had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Ewing Sarcoma. It started at the top of my neck and finished just below my left breast. It had collapsed my left lung.
On the 27th, I had a biopsy of the tumour, 2 different types of bone marrow tests, fluid taken off of my lung and a Hickman line fitted. Treatment after that started almost straight away.
Telling people was very hard, even my closest friends. I didn't want to accept the situation, let alone share it. How do you explain to someone that you have cancer? It sounds like a simple thing to do, but once others believe it then you also have to. People react in different ways. My closest friends were so supportive but I found it really difficult to let them see me the way I was.
Dealing with school and friends was very hard in the first few months. Having the time to even think about my GCSE's and go out and socialise wasn't easy. I couldn't concentrate on anything and I couldn't learn anything new with this massive problem filling every inch of my head.
Just a few days later, I started the long fight for my life. I completed 15 sessions of chemotherapy and 32 sessions of radiotherapy (every day for 7 weeks).
Chemotherapy dragged by, making me feel weak, sick and very tired. My first course of Chemo was called VIDE. Vincristine, Ifosfamide, Doxorubicin and Etoposide (If you want to know what each of them does, you can look them up on Google). I had 9 rounds of this course of Chemo, I would be in hospital for 4 days. I would be attached to a drip all the time, with only having an hour off each day. This was a very intense and strong course of chemotherapy, meaning that when I actually got to go home, I would have around 5 days before I went neutropenic and infections started to kick in. I would be admitted to my local hospital where I would spend the next week on IV antibiotics as being neutropenic meant I couldn't fight infections on my own. Once I came home from my local hospital, I would have 3-4 days where I could try and be as 'normal' as possible before I had to go back up to London for my next round of chemo. That was my life for 7 months. This course affected me so much, to the point where I had to stop having the Vincristine as I was struggling with simple tasks like walking.
Once I had finished VIDE, I went on to have 6 rounds of another course. Unfortunately they had to change my last round completely as tests showed that my kidneys were really struggling.
I started to lose my hair on the 27th of June 2011, followed by my eyelashes, then my eyebrows. I looked like the children I had seen on children's hospital appeal adverts, I used to shy away from them, not look and feel guilty. But now, I was faced with the real thing. I done everything I could to keep my hair, but I understood that things had to get worse before they could get better, and I just had to be brave.
I didn't have any operations to remove my tumour the first time round. My tumour was wrapped around my jugular and nerves for my left arm. My doctors were worried that if I had it removed, I would struggle with the use of my arm.
I also had radiotherapy in the October that would last for 7 weeks where my mum had to drive me from Brighton to Sutton every day.
I went on with treatment until I went into remission on the 6th July 2012! YAY.
I was able to live my life as “normal” as possible until October 2013 when I was having a routine scan and they found a lump. On the 29th November I was told that I had relapsed and that I had cancer for the second time. No words could describe how I felt. I was absolutely HEARTBROKEN. I felt like I couldn’t go on to do it again. The first time was hard enough.
I was able to live my life as “normal” as possible until October 2013 when I was having a routine scan and they found a lump. On the 29th November I was told that I had relapsed and that I had cancer for the second time. No words could describe how I felt. I was absolutely HEARTBROKEN. I felt like I couldn’t go on to do it again. The first time was hard enough.
I'm going to leave this post here as it'll get way too long!
Thanks for reading this first half of my cancer story so far. I hope this has given you an insight on what I have been through. The next part will be up next week!
Thanks for reading this first half of my cancer story so far. I hope this has given you an insight on what I have been through. The next part will be up next week!
Please leave a comment and let me know what you thought of this post. I would love to read through them!
Until next time my lovelies,
So much love, always!
Jayde x
So much love, always!
Jayde x
I'm so proud of you, always. My little fighter, you never cease to amaze me with your strength x
ReplyDeletekeep going Jayde i know you can fight it. you are amazing Love you xxx
ReplyDeleteWow Jayde you are so brave! And such a wonderful writer! Keep strong Hun ❤️ xx
ReplyDeleteEverything you write sounds so familiar, although our story is a bit different there are lots of similarities... Keep on going and never give up! regards Astrid, always Angelique's mum
ReplyDeleteYour so strong x
ReplyDelete