A courageous teenager has shared the second she discovered she had blood most cancers after noticing a small, painless lump in her neck.
Megan Reid, from Brisbane, was identified with stage two Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in November 2019 at 16 whereas making ready heading into her closing two years of highschool.
In mid-2019 Megan thought she was unwell with a typical chilly till she seen a lump the dimensions of a cherry tomato on her neck and visited a health care provider a couple of months later.
‘It didn’t harm, didn’t develop and wasn’t the obvious factor, however you may see it,’ she informed FEMAIL.
Megan, now 18, has been in remission since December 2021 after relapsing as a result of stem cell transplant issues.
Megan Reid, from Brisbane, was identified with stage two Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in November 2019 on the ripe age of 16 whereas trying ahead to her closing few years of highschool
In mid-2019 Megan thought she was unwell with a typical chilly till she seen a lump the dimensions of a cherry tomato on her neck and visited a health care provider a couple of months later
‘I stored getting sick all by means of winter and did some looking out on Dr Google which actually freaked me out,’ she mentioned. ‘You’ll by no means count on a 16-year-old to have most cancers.’
Regardless of the unlikely odds, the doctor despatched Megan to get a blood take a look at, extremely sound and a biopsy on the lump, which got here again as ‘inconclusive’.
‘My palms have been shaking after the primary appointment; I used to be very scared and afraid and by no means thought this might occur to me,’ she mentioned.
That very same month she was referred to an oncologist and had a surgical biopsy which detected the most cancers.
‘I stored getting sick all by means of winter and did some looking out on Dr Google which actually freaked my out,’ she mentioned
From December 2, she began one in every of 5 cycles of chemotherapy however no radiotherapy.
‘The therapy was terrible and I felt nauseous on a regular basis,’ she mentioned.
For six months Megan was in remission however relapsed in October 2020, which she described as simply ‘unhealthy luck’.
‘There was some extent the place we have been contemplating doing radiation as a part of my unique therapy however we determined towards it, and we initially thought that’s why I relapsed,’ Megan defined.
‘However my oncologist thinks I’d’ve relapsed whether or not I had radiation or not.’
From December 2, Megan began one in every of 5 cycles of chemotherapy however no radiotherapy, which made her really feel consistently nauseous
Regardless of being so younger, medical doctors carried out an egg retrieval previous to persevering with additional therapy.
‘We knew the subsequent therapy was almost definitely going to make me infertile,’ she mentioned, including: ‘And we additionally did one other biopsy simply to ensure it was the identical most cancers, which it was.’
‘It was a loopy factor to be going by means of at 17, however I had household and pals who have been actually supportive.’
Because of the relapse Megan began one other two rounds of chemotherapy adopted by an extra three cycles of a special protocol drug, as the primary didn’t work efficiently.
‘Subsequent we determined to go forward with my stem cell transplant in April 2021 despite the fact that I wasn’t in remission,’ she mentioned.
‘It was a loopy factor to be going by means of at 17, however I had household and pals who have been actually supportive,’ she mentioned
However from stem cell issues Megan was admitted into hospital for 2 months till June.
‘Full physique scans confirmed I nonetheless wasn’t in remission but, so the stem cell transplant didn’t assist as a lot as we had hoped – which was very disappointing,’ she mentioned.
Docs then tried a ‘graft-versus-lymphoma’ impact in try and rid of the tumour cells, however as an alternative the alternative occurred.
‘I mainly ended up with the graft-versus-host illness,’ she mentioned – a situation that happens when the stem cells assault the recipient.
Pondering she was sure to have some good luck, Megan sadly had an contaminated colon after radiotherapy and was incubated for twenty-four hours as her lungs swiftly ‘stopped working’.
‘I misplaced all my power and couldn’t stroll – even simply by sitting up straight I’d get out of breath,’ she mentioned.
Regardless of the continued therapy Megan was capable of graduate from highschool alongside her classmates and finest pals in November
All through her journey Megan has been sharing her story with 1000’s on social media to unfold consciousness concerning the illness greater than 600 folks in Australia are identified with annually
Each Megan and her medical doctors have been shocked that after all of the issues with the stem cell transplant, a PET scan confirmed she was most cancers free.
‘Docs didn’t count on it to occur so rapidly as a result of the radiotherapy takes no less than three months to totally work,’ she mentioned.
‘I used to be capable of go residence mid-December final yr and I’ve been recovering since then.’
Regardless of the continued therapy Megan was capable of graduate from highschool alongside her classmates and finest pals in November.
All through her journey Megan has been sharing her story with 1000’s on social media to unfold consciousness concerning the illness greater than 600 folks in Australia are identified with annually.
‘My motto is: “Simply maintain swimming” – that means that you must get by means of the unhealthy instances earlier than reaching the nice instances,’ she mentioned.
For extra info on Hodgkin’s lymphoma and different kinds of blood most cancers, please go to Lymphoma Australia or the Australian Most cancers Council.
