Newlywed, 26, discovers she has thyroid cancer after bumping into eagle-eyed doctor on her HONEYMOON in Cyprus
A CHANCE encounter with a doctor in the street saved a newlywed woman’s life after the eagle-eyed medic spotted a strange lump on her neck.
Just weeks later, Danielle McCulloch was diagnosed with stage three thyroid cancer and was told by doctors that without treatment it could have killed her.
The 26-year-old was on her honeymoon in Cyprus when she bumped into the doctor in the supermarket.
The medic advised Danielle that the lump on her neck looked suspicious and told her she should get it checked out as soon as she landed back in the UK.
Danielle said: "I'm so grateful to that doctor for telling me what she did because she could have saved my life.
"She wasn't even working, she was just doing her shopping.
"No-one else had ever pointed the lump out before and I didn't think it was anything to worry about.
"Without the push to get it checked out, it could have been a completely different story."
Danielle and her then fiancé Matt, 27, who runs a groundworks company, decided to get married abroad after booking a family holiday to Cyprus in May 2015.
As both of their families were going to be all together, they found it the perfect opportunity for an intimate beach ceremony - with their children Louis, nine, and Imogen, four, by their sides.
But just days after tying the knot, Danielle was out shopping with her grandmother Wendy who lives on the island, when they bumped into the doctor.
Danielle added: "She is my nan's doctor so she was introducing us.
“Almost immediately she asked what the lump on my neck was and whether I'd had it checked.
"I had only recently had my second child and had put around a stone in weight on, so I just put it down to changes in my body.
"I didn't really know how to take what she was saying as it was quite personal and out of the blue but she was quite insistent that when I got back to the UK I needed to go and see someone."
Sun Doctor Carol Cooper: 'So lucky lump was seen'
DANIELLE is unlucky to get thyroid cancer but very fortunate that it was spotted.
Some thyroid cancers respond well to treatment but others are more aggressive.
I’ve seen a fair few people with lumps and bumps when off duty. But I’ve never spotted a cancer like Danielle’s.
Thyroid cancer is rare, though it’s more likely in women. Treatment depends on the type of thyroid cancer and stage it has reached. One effective treatment for some is radioactive iodine, given by injection.
The outlook depends on the type of cancer, how advanced it is, and the patient’s age.
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After arriving home to Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, Danielle went to see her GP.
She was immediately referred to a specialist for tests and a biopsy, however nothing showed up.
Danielle recalled: "I wasn't worried at all because I really didn't think there was anything in it.
"When the biopsy came back clear, I thought it was all just a fuss about nothing, but the doctors asked to remove the lump just to be safe.
"They carried out a pretty straight forward operation to take the mass off my left thyroid, and it was only later that they revealed it was in fact cancerous."
Doctors at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge found Danielle was suffering from thyroid cancer.
Thyroid cancer affects the thyroid gland, a small gland at the base of your neck that produces hormones.
After having already removed the left side of Danielle's thryoid, where the 4cm lump was growing, medics then carried out a second operation to remove the right side.
She was then given a radioactive iodine treatment to ensure any cancerous cells were destroyed.
Danielle said: "When I look back on when they gave me the news, it was like one of those adverts where you can see them talking but can't hear what they're saying.
"It was like the doctor went all fuzzy, I was listening but I wasn't taking it in.
"All I could think about was my family and my two young children. It was literally this massive bombshell."
During her treatment, Danielle had to be kept in isolation away from her children.
She said: "The treatment was a really scary experience but compared to some treatment cancer sufferers have, it was a godsend.
"I had to stay away from my family and friends for a week. That was the hardest part of it.
“We explained to my son that I was like the Hulk and would have this stuff in my system.
"My daughter was too young to understand. When I could see my children again and hug them it was great but I was a bit scared. I didn't want to hurt them."
What is thyroid cancer?
Thyroid cancer is a rare type of cancer that affects the thyroid gland, a small gland at the base of the neck that produces hormones.
It's most common in people in their 30s and those over the age of 60.
Women are two to three times more likely to develop it than men.
It is usually treatable and in many cases can be cured completely.
Symptoms:
- a painless lump or swelling in the neck
- swollen glands in the neck
- unexplained hoarseness that doesn't go away in a few weeks
- a sore throat that doesn't get better
- trouble swallowing
Types of thyroid cancer:
- Papillary carcinoma: the most common type, accounting for about 8 in 10 cases; it usually affects people under 40, particularly women
- Follicular carcinoma: accounts for up to 1 in 10 cases and tends to affect middle-aged adults, particularly women
- Medullary thyroid carcinoma: accounts for less than 1 in 10 cases; unlike the other types, it can run in families
- Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma: the rarest and most serious type, accounting for around 1 in 50 cases; it usually affects people over the age of 60
Treatment:
There are a range of treatment options available depending on which cancer you have.
The main treatments are surgery, radioactive iodine treatment, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Danielle, who works as a cleaner, has been left with a visible scar on her neck from the treatment and will have take medication that does the work of her thyroid for the rest of her life.
She will also have to return to hospital for bi-annual check-ups but now hopes to encourage others to visit a doctor to get any unusual symptoms checked out - no matter how small.
Danielle added: "People know their own bodies and when something doesn't feel right, they shouldn't just assume everything is OK.
"I'm lucky. The lump was large but contained. If I had left it much longer who knows. I knew something wasn't quite right but I chose to ignore my body. And to be honest I'd never even heard of thyroid cancer.
"It's a cancer maybe not a lot of people are aware about but to all my friends and family I remind them anything new or any difference in your body big or small, check it out.
"It only takes ten minutes and it could save your life."
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