Couple’s leap of faith in future

Alison Hughes-Waters had been feeling ill for about a year, but she had no idea she was suffering from cancer.

“I’ve had liver problems for much of my life,” says the 40-year-old from Rothwell.

“So when I started to feel ill I just put it down to that.”

However, when she was overcome by debilitating fatigue, Alison went to her doctor. They did a blood test and weren’t happy with what they found.

An MRI scan revealed that Alison had a 14cm tumour across her liver.

“They said I had some form of cancer on my liver and I honestly thought they’d be able to give me a liver transplant and I would be alright.” But the extent of the tumour made that impossible and Alison was told there was only a 50:50 chance they could treat the cancer.

After further tests she was told she had non-Hodgkin lymphoma and that it was treatable.

But before undergoing chemotherapy Alison and her then partner David Waters decided to go through IVF so that they could freeze some embryos to enable them to have a family.

And as 2012 was a leap year Alison took the opportunity to propose to David.

“When you get diagnosed with cancer everything goes through your mind. We’d been together some time and it was a leap year and so I thought ‘why not?’”

David accepted and Alison started her chemotherapy.

“It was a real out of body experience for me,” she says.

“I had such a lot of support and it really helped me stay positive. Because I couldn’t see the cancer I couldn’t see it shrinking and so the doctors had to convince me.”

Between March and August last year, Alison was in hospital for 93 days under going chemotherapy. The couple married in March this year, the anniversary of the start of her chemotherapy. Alison has now been a year in remission but undergoes regular hospital check-ups.

Now the pair are hoping to start a family and Alison wants to raise awareness of Lymphoma.

“You hear a lot of about breast cancer and prostate cancer but I had never heard of Lymphoma. Often they are a lump in your neck, armpit or groin, but mine was on my liver so I couldn’t see it. If I hadn’t had liver problems already I would have probably gone to the doctor sooner. I would urge anyone who feels unwell to go to the GP and ask for a simple blood test.”

Sally Penrose, chief executive of the Lymphoma Association, said: “Although lymphoma is the fifth most common cancer in the UK, many people haven’t heard of it until they or a loved one are diagnosed. We are trying to change this, so that people will go to their GP straightaway if they experience any lymphoma symptoms over a period of time.”

The most common symptom of lymphoma is a painless lump or swelling, often in the neck, armpit or groin. Other common symptoms include feeling worn out for no reason, unexplained weight loss, excessive sweating (especially at night), persistent itching, a cough or breathlessness and abdominal pain or diarrhoea.

www.lymphomas.org.uk

Raising awareness of Lymphoma

The UK’s leading charity for people affected by lymphoma wants to get more people talking about the disease during Lymphatic Cancer Awareness Week from September 9-15. The incidence of lymphoma is increasing year on year, especially among the over-75s, but it is not known why this is happening. It’s the UK’s most common type of blood cancer and every 40 minutes another person in the UK learns they have it.

The Lymphoma Association specialises in providing information and emotional support to anyone affected by lymphoma and campaigns on behalf of patients.