Hi. I’m Roz, 29 from England. On February 9th this year, I was diagnosed with Nodular Sclerosis Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
People have asked me if I was surprised when I got my diagnosis, and my answer is no. I’d been going to the doctor’s with a Hodgkin’s symptom since July 2009, it just so happens that because it was a very rare symptom, the GP I saw hadn’t heard of it. I then saw another GP who also hadn’t heard of it.
This symptom was pain after alcohol consumption. We’re not talking copious amounts of alcohol here, literally a couple of mouthfuls. I would get shooting pains in my shoulder, really intense shooting pains. I’d have to go and have a cry and a lie down for an hour, it was that painful.
Alcohol pain is a very rare symptom of Hodgkin’s. Not many people get it. The more common symptoms are night sweats, unexplained weight loss, painless lumps in one or more lymph nodes, itchy skin, and fatigue.
The alcohol pain was my only symptom for a long time. For about 6 weeks before my diagnosis, I started to get a really nasty cough (the mass was in my chest), and in the week or two leading up to my diagnosis, I got really itchy legs, I still have scars there from where I made them bleed.
Fast forward 33 weeks from the date of my diagnosis, 6 cycles of chemotherapy, one stay in hospital with pneumonia, and a couple of scans, yesterday I was given the all clear and was given the news I wanted to hear. I am in remission!
I am so happy with this news. I feel like I can breath a huge sigh of relief and start to enjoy life again.
The content of this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice.
