London24NEWS

Doctors identified me with most cancers after I believed I had ALLERGIES

A comedy writer was diagnosed with cancer on her birthday after initially mistaking her symptoms for bad allergies. 

Kelsey Riddle, from Austin, Texas, was just about to finish graduate school in 2017 when her legs started itching so badly that she would scratch them until they bled.

As summer approached and she wrote her thesis, she put the itching down to allergies and stress. 

‘I was super exhausted, super stressed out, not feeling too great,’ Ms Riddle, now 32, told The Patient Story. ‘If you’ve been to Austin, you probably had some flare-ups, so it’s not uncommon.’

But in August, she noticed a lymph node in the back of her neck had grown to the size of a quarter. 

Kelsey Riddle, 32, mistook her initial stage two lymphoma symptoms, which included itchy legs, for allergies

Kelsey Riddle, 32, mistook her initial stage two lymphoma symptoms, which included itchy legs, for allergies

'It was horrible. I woke up on my birthday [to a] 9 am phone call,' Ms Riddle said. 'I just sat there and bawled in my bed for a couple hours'

‘It was horrible. I woke up on my birthday [to a] 9 am phone call,’ Ms Riddle said. ‘I just sat there and bawled in my bed for a couple hours’

As she continued writing her thesis, she noticed a quarter-sized lymph node growing on her neck that moved around. Generally, a lymph node moves if it’s responding to an infection.

Doctors prescribed multiple rounds of antibiotics, all of which failed, and her primary physician declared, ‘If this wasn’t moving, I would be worried this was cancer.’

GOT A HEALTH-RELATED STORY?

Advertisement

Just one month later, another node on her collarbone ballooned overnight to the size of an egg. 

On the morning of September 22, Ms Riddle’s 26th birthday, doctors called to diagnose her with lymphoma. 

‘It was horrible. I woke up on my birthday [to a] 9 am phone call,’ she said. ‘I just sat there and bawled in my bed for a couple hours.’

Ms Riddle was diagnosed with stage 2A Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer that attacks the lymph nodes and disease-fighting white blood cells. 

The condition affects about 8,500 Americans – most commonly those under 30 or 50 to 70 -every year and is responsible for just under 1,000 deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. 

The overall five-year survival rate is roughly 75 percent.

‘I remember thinking, “This is actually a relief,” because lymphomas are typically pretty treatable,’ Ms Riddle said. 

Ms Riddle underwent chemotherapy and radiation for her lymphoma
She has been cancer free since 2019

Ms Riddle underwent chemotherapy and radiation for her lymphoma. She has been cancer free since 2019

'Don¿t feel like you¿re stuck with this situation of someone not listening to you advocate for yourself,' Ms Riddle said

‘Don’t feel like you’re stuck with this situation of someone not listening to you advocate for yourself,’ Ms Riddle said

She received a litany of biopsies and scans to confirm the staging before starting treatment. 

‘Something about having a machine analyzing me for an hour or so and telling me my chances of living. It was just really difficult for me to handle,’ she said.

‘I remember leaving the PET scan upset and just collapsing in my dad’s truck and having an upsetting conversation with him. He was always the one that had the answers for me and he didn’t have them this time.’

‘It was just one of those things where I think we were just so emotionally exhausted that we just kind of collapsed.’

That November, Ms Riddle started ABVD chemotherapy, a regimen specifically designed for Hodgkin lymphoma, which she said improved her symptoms ‘almost immediately.’

‘I was really lucky that I didn’t have an allergic reaction or anything to the chemo itself.

‘My initial reaction was pretty mild. I lost a little hair. I ended up shaving it anyway after that,’ she said.

‘I was mildly sick but my itchy legs resolved immediately. I think that that was also possibly because my immune system was being repressed.’

‘It was very crazy. I immediately felt better after my first round.’

She also reported almost no nausea or side effects from the treatment. ‘It was actually pretty incredible.’ 

Chemotherapy lasted for about four months, followed by one month of radiation. By July 2019, scans found no evidence of cancer remaining, and Ms Riddle has stayed in remission since.

Ms Riddle is now encouraging other young cancer patients to ‘take a more active role’ in their care and speak up if doctors make them feel dismissed.

‘Don’t feel like you’re stuck with this situation of someone not listening to you advocate for yourself,’ she said. 

‘If you really feel strongly about something, at least bring it up to your doctor. Don’t be scared to ask them questions.’

‘If you have a doctor who is making you feel stupid or ridiculous for asking these questions and you have the ability to find a new doctor, find a new doctor because you do not have to deal with that.’

What is lymphoma?

Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymph nodes, which is the body’s disease-fighting network.

That network consists of the spleen, bone marrow, lymph nodes and thymus gland. 

There are various types of lymphoma, but two main ones: non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin.

Both have much better prognoses than many types of cancer. 

WHAT IS HODGKIN LYMPHOMA?

Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of cancer that starts in the white blood cells. It is named after Thomas Hodgkin, an English doctor who first identified the disease in 1832.  

It affects around 2,000 people each year in the UK, and 8,500 a year in the US.

Hodgkin lymphoma is most common between the ages of 20 and 24, and 75 and 79. 

Five-year survival rates:

The survival rates are much more favourable than most other cancers. 

  • Stage 1: 90%
  • Stage 2: 90%
  • Stage 3: 80%
  • Stage 4: 65% 

Symptoms include: 

  • A painless swelling in the armpits, neck and groin 
  • Heavy night sweating
  • Extreme weight loss 
  • Itching
  • Shortness of breath 
  • Coughing 

Risk factors: 

  • Lowered immunity
  • A family history of the condition
  • Smokers 
  • Those who are overweight

Treatment: 

  • Chemotherapy
  • Radiotherapy
  • Steroids 
  • Stem cell or bone marrow transplants

WHAT IS NON-HODGKIN LYMPHOMA?

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma can occur anywhere in the body but is usually first noticed in the lymph nodes around sufferers’ necks.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma affects around 14,000 new people every year in the UK. In the US, more than 80,000 people are diagnosed annually.

It is more common in males than females, and it is commonly diagnosed either in a patient’s early 20s or after the age of 55. 

Five-year survival rates:

Survival can vary widely with NHL. 

The general survival rate for five years is 70 percent, and the chance of living 10 years is approximately 60 percent. 

Symptoms include:

  • Painless swellings in the neck, armpit or groin
  • Heavy night sweating
  • Unexplained weight loss of more than one-tenth of a person’s body
  • Itching

Risk factors:

  • Over 75
  • Have a weak immune system
  • Suffer from coeliac disease
  • Have a family history of the condition 
  • Have had other types of cancer

Treatment:

It depends on the number and locations of the body affected by Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Therapy typically includes chemotherapy.