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Mum-to-be Caitlin McAlinden discusses being diagnosed with cancer
NationalWorld.com
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11/04/2024
A mum-to-be was diagnosed with cancer at five months pregnant after extreme morning sickness turned out to be a symptom of the disease.
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00:00
So obviously I made like a video of pictures documenting like my pregnancy so far of
00:06
Like found out that I was pregnant and was so sick and had hyperemesis then got diagnosed with gallstones
00:14
probably that were caused by hyperemesis because it's all to do with like your bile ducts and whatever and
00:19
Then I find a lump in my neck and now
00:25
like I'm going through all of these like appointments because I've been diagnosed with cancer which like
00:30
You never think that it's going to be you but like with everything that's happened in this pregnancy
00:35
It's just like one thing after the other. I had an appointment today
00:38
and
00:41
with the labor doctor and a theotist and
00:44
haematologist to kind of go through like a care plan because they were thinking like they were gonna have to like induce me
00:53
to start the chemotherapy like sooner and whatever so um
00:56
Basically there's so many complications so they can't have a c-section because
01:02
unless it's for an emergency c-section because obviously the
01:06
Healing time after that is like six weeks or something, but they want to start chemotherapy like as soon as possible
01:11
then um
01:14
I mentioned that I wanted an epidural because like the amount of pain that I've been in with like gallstones has been horrendous
01:21
but then
01:23
They've said yes
01:25
So long as like the cancer hasn't spread to my lymph nodes in my back.
01:30
So anyway, I got there today and told them that I was planning on flying back home because at the minute I live
01:37
Like live in England and I was like right flying back in to Ireland to see my family for Easter
01:43
and
01:45
And I just wanted to know if like everything was like okay like with the baby and whatever but then
01:50
turns out I've been prescribed these
01:54
Blood thinning injections now that I have to take every single day
01:58
From now until six weeks after birth because
02:03
The cancer causes blood clots and obviously like during pregnancy like your blood clots more anyway
02:10
So that's mad so now I have my own shark spin then
02:14
They wanted me to go for an MRI because I've got like a widening in my chest
02:21
And they just want to know like if the cancer has spread to anywhere else
02:24
Anyway, that got done and I really hope that I never have to go for another one. But
02:29
The haematologist rang then to say that she'd like looked over it with one of the
02:36
Radiographers or radiologists can't remember what it was that she said and basically it is in my chest like there's
02:45
Abnormal tissue in my chest which is probably causing the breathlessness
02:50
so and they'd noticed like a widening anyway in
02:54
The chest x-ray and she had already mentioned that like it's common in lymphoma that like something in your chest does swell
03:01
in which can cause breathlessness, so I
03:04
Was kind of expecting it, but and she didn't mention anything about any of the other lymph nodes
03:11
So like I'm taking that as a positive. So like if it's just above
03:16
Like my diaphragm then hopefully it will only be like a couple of rounds of chemo rather than
03:21
like months, but
03:24
Like again
03:28
Any appointment that I go to or anything I come home with a bag from like the chemist
03:33
So I know I have to take eight steroids a day
03:36
Which is like the highest dose for like a normal person, but obviously because I'm pregnant
03:43
And it's like quite high too and then in two weeks time they want to review it and then double the dose
03:49
So it's like 16 a day, which is crazy like for somebody that's never been on tablets in their life
03:54
and so obviously I had the hematology appointment yesterday and
03:59
Basically the good news is is that it's
04:03
only in my neck
04:05
So from the MRI scan, it's only showed that only in my both sides of my neck
04:09
I can only feel it on this side because it's like here
04:13
I don't even know if you can really
04:15
See it, but I am and in my midius sternum
04:18
Which is like around your heart and your lungs like a part in your chest
04:23
Which is obviously making it difficult for me to breathe
04:26
So the and it's not in my pelvis or in my lymph nodes like under my armpits, which is really good
04:31
so
04:33
Next week I'm going for a sweep tomorrow. I've got a growth scan
04:37
to find out what size the baby is and
04:41
At the last growth scan he was four pounds seven ounces. So I'm gonna say he's probably about five
04:46
seven maybe so if I go within like the next
04:51
week or two might be like
04:54
Six and a half seven pound which is like a good size. But in they want to start chemotherapy three weeks after he's born
05:02
Which is probably gonna be like the second week in May
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