Ellie Sedgewick
Cancer category: Lymphomas
Cancer type: None
Ellie Sedgewick
Ellie was 17 when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system, which is part of your immune system. She underwent successful chemotherapy and is now looking forward to going back to school to finish her A-levels.
It all began for Ellie when a lump appeared on the back of her neck:
“I didn’t have any symptoms until a lump appeared on my neck and got progressively bigger. We thought it was just an infection so left the lump for about a year, until my mum noticed how big the lump had got on photos. I went to my GP and they referred me to the local hospital where they did a needle biopsy which came back with nothing unusual, however the doctor persisted and I had a full biopsy on the lump. The results took about 3 weeks to come back and when we were called in for the results, they told us they weren’t sure what it was, and that it was borderline sinister and we should come back the following week. We were unsure what was going on”
“This was incredibly distressing for me and my family.”
“I was diagnosed with a rare strain of Hodgkins Lymphoma called lymphocyte predominant. I had ABVD, a chemotherapy regimen used in the first-line treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma, to begin with; however this wasn’t very effective so my consultant changed my treatment after six cycles to RCHOP, a combination treatment which worked really effectively.”
“I suffered really badly with fatigue and mouth ulcers.”
Ellie’s treatment finished on the 22 March:
“Unfortunately the way I deal with things is by shutting people out and putting on a brave front to everyone that is around me. However, after about 3 months of treatment and with still going to school in this time, I started to find it really difficult to be brave all the time and felt miserable. I stopped going to school and tried to concentrate on being honest with everyone around me and myself about how I was feeling.”
“It came as quite a shock to everyone to begin with.”
“Throughout treatment I didn’t see much of my friends but thankfully they all understood and were very supportive through texting and Facebook. My mum and boyfriend were the biggest support to me. From my experience I have learnt to never take anything for granted because your whole life can change in an instant. I have also realised who my real friends are. To other people being diagnosed I would say be honest. It is your cancer, and don’t let other people tell you how to feel and how to deal with it, because no one knows you better than you know yourself.”
“If you are unhappy then tell someone and deal with it.”
Thankfully Ellie’s treatment was a success:
“I have now finished treatment and I am starting to go back to school because I want to finish my A levels so I can get a job working for a charity for children and teenagers with cancer. After my experience, I feel like I want to help teenagers deal with their cancer experience in a profession. I have also raised £400 selling wristbands and bracelets for Teenage Cancer Trust and have been to the Royal Albert Hall gig to see Paul McCartney, which was amazing!”
