I had an intense itch in my leg for three years and was horrified to learn it was stage four cancer
Rebecca McDonald, 30, also suffered pain in her shoulder when she drank alcohol and noticed a lump on her neck
A WOMAN diagnosed with stage 4 cancer says an “intense itch” in her leg was the first sign something was wrong.
But even though Rebecca McDonald was convinced things weren’t right, doctors dismissed her worries.
The 30-year-old, from Dundalk in Ireland, was referred for a blood test at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, Co , in 2010 but did not get an appointment until July 2011.
And just one week beforehand, the appointment was cancelled.
The next time she was given one was in November 2012 — by this time she was already in treatment for stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma.
Rebecca said: “I had a really intense itch in my leg for three years. Looking back now I know it was my main symptom and it is a symptom of a lymphoma."
She continued: “To begin with I thought it was just allergies of some sort.
"But it continued and it wouldn’t go away.
"Then in 2010, my bloods showed I had an elevated white blood cell count and it kept rising.
“But nobody thought this is what it could be, probably because I was so young. I was in my early-20s and I had no other real symptoms.”
Doctors began to take her constant complaints seriously in the summer of 2012, when a lump appeared on her neck.
Rebecca said: “I had to go to the doctor with the lump and explain I think this is a lymphoma."
She added: “I said my other symptoms and told him I would get a pain in my shoulder any time I had an alcoholic drink — I would be on the dance floor and I would have to get off because of the pain.
"But apparently that too was a sign.
“So when he felt the lump, he knew it was something and sent me to a consultant for a biopsy.”
Tests confirmed she had stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma and it had spread to her lungs and bones.
Days later she started chemo, which lasted for six months.
Rebecca said: “Chemo left me exhausted. It was long days in hospital and then I got an allergic reaction to one of the drugs so I had to take antihistamines which would knock me for six and I couldn’t move out of the bed.
“They could also never find a vein, which was never pleasant.
"I used to text my mam to guess how many times it would take to find one.
"I remember one of the first questions I asked was 'would I lose my hair?' and they said 'yes'.
“I remember the exact day it happened and I just told my mam, ‘It’s started’. It was about two weeks into chemo and from there it fell out every day.”
In February 2013, she was told the chemo had worked.
But then Rebecca had to deal with the mental side of her disease.
What is Hodgkin lymphoma?
According to the Hodgkin lymphoma is an uncommon cancer that develops in the lymphatic system, which is a network of vessels and glands spread throughout your body.
The NHS said: "In Hodgkin lymphoma, B-lymphocytes (a particular type of lymphocyte) start to multiply in an abnormal way and begin to collect in certain parts of the lymphatic system, such as the lymph nodes (glands).
"The affected lymphocytes lose their infection-fighting properties, making you more vulnerable to infection.
"The most common symptom of Hodgkin lymphoma is a painless swelling in a lymph node, usually in the neck, armpit or groin."
Around 2,100 people develop it in the UK annually, with people in their early 20s and over 70 most likely to be affected.
It's an aggrssive cancer - but also one of the easiest to treat.
She said: “People think that when you get the all-clear, you are better. But you have to start all over again to find yourself again.
“You look different, you feel different. I had lost a year. All my friends were in careers and I felt like I was held back.
“They were all getting married, having kids, and I didn’t know who I was.
"But it made me realise I wasn’t happy in my job I had been in so I had to make a change.”
Now Rebecca is urging anyone who has fears over their health to fight for a diagnosis.
She said: “You know your own body and you have to look after it, nobody else will.
“I knew it was something serious and I got so frustrated when I couldn’t find out what it was. There was no rash or scars but I knew something was there.
“I remember being in my room and throwing myself across the room screaming.
"I was at breaking point. But I kept fighting and I got that diagnosis. Now six years on and I am cancer free.”
Rebecca and her colleagues are taking part in the Irish Cancer Society’s Dancer for Cancer campaign with Today FM on April 30, when a nationwide day of dancing will be held.
See for more.
Most read in Real Life
A wife revealed she sat with her husband all night after he died of cancer.
Meanwhile, Joanne told how she sat with her daughter after she died from neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer.