PREGNANT WHEN DIAGNOSIED?

pjm

Hi i'm now 27 and last year in 2004 i was 5 months when i found a lump on my neck and i had a biopsey and was told i had hodgkins but they couldn't stage me until i had my baby they decided to bring him out when i was 7 months pregnant i put my foot down on a c section and they managed to start off the labour and i had him normally,he was taken off too the new born ward i was really lucky he was a good weight and although his health went up and down but by mid june he came home and then i had a ct scan and staged at stage2a then started chemo it was hard looking after my baby and older to sons but i did it and kept strong and a week before christmas was told it has gone.Now i'm finding it harder than ever it just seems to have hit me what i have been through and am very depressed and waiting to see a consellor,its not just the emotionally side its the side effects too my hands are tingly and feel like i have gloves on all the time and i'm so tired and its not because of the baby hes an angel slept through the night since 2 months old i'm vvv lucky and also the last month or so my legs have started tingling but i no from this site that i'm not the only one, I'm scared it will come back i'm scared life won't ever get back to normal....

kiren

HI. I am a 6yrs Hodgkins survivor, stage 2B. Like you I was pregnant 8months when diagnosed. I too had a lump near the neck area. Had a biopsy and the docs were thinking of inducing my baby but he came naturally a day after biopsy (three weeks early). I recieved 6months ABVD and then radiation. I know how you feel. I felt exactly the same. I had tingling in my feet, my doc told me to wear comfortable shoes. There is nothing much you can do except wait. Nearly all side affects go away with time. Just try to rest, I am telling you, your strength wouldn't be the same as before. I used to get upset too when I would get tired even after treatment but then I learned that I need to give myself some time. Its not as bad now but still sometimes I do feel overworked and need to relax. I hope this helps. Just be happy and take one day at a time. Enjoy your health!

KyLibrarian

Hi, pjm. I was pregnant when I found lumps under my arms, but I was misdiagnosed--my daughter was 6 months old before I learned I had Hodgkin's, and by then I had tumors all over my chest.

That was two years ago, and it really wasn't until the last few months that I have felt "normal." I was beating myself up pretty badly at a checkup about a year ago, and the doctor told me that I wasn't giving myself a chance to heal. I was expecting myself to do too much, too fast. That was a turning point and I stop feeling worried or guilty on the days when I felt tired, tingly, or even swollen (I developed mild lymphedema as a result of radiation.) I can promise you it gets better. Get lots of rest, use those sick days when you can, and talk to your doctor when you don't feel something is right. I can hardly believe I started down this road two years ago this week.