Meet Danielle, North Wales, UK, diagnosed November 2016
A TRUE MIRACLE HERE!!
"I’m Danielle. I was diagnosed with choriocarcinoma just two weeks after my second child, Averly, was born. Towards the end of my pregnancy I developed extreme sciatic type pain which we put down to pregnancy so I wasn’t alarmed. My first baby was almost 11 lb so I put it down to her possibly being a big baby and touching a nerve!
After having Averly, my placenta got stuck and I had to have a spinal block to get it removed. I presumed the sciatic pain would be gone after the spinal block wore off but it didn’t; it got worse for the next two weeks, which made parenting nearly impossible. I could just about breastfeed Averly if my husband picked her up and placed her on and off me. I couldn’t play with my 2 year old son, I couldn’t sit, stand or lie comfortably. It was a different kind of sleep deprived I’d ever experienced!
My midwife advised I went back to the anesthetist to see if any damage was caused by the spinal block. What I thought was an outpatient appointment turned into an overnight stay with two MRI scans and a CT scan.
The following day I was told the heartbreaking news that it was (choriocarcinoma) cancer in the lungs, liver, brain, up the spine, and in the bone of the sacrum at the bottom of the spine.
At this point they had no idea it was choriocarcinoma. An amazing angel doctor persisted and got my blood tested for the H-CG level and later that day discovered it was possible choriocarcinoma.
I was taken in an ambulance to a specialist hospital in Sheffield who confirmed it was indeed choriocarcinoma and I began my treatment.
I totally believe I was spiritually guided and protected by God. It was potentially 7-12 months worth of treatment but I did it in 4 with a total of 7 cycles/rounds of ema/ep chemo cocktail, although it was heartbreaking to leave my family every week for a few days for 4 months, it made me stronger as a person and us as a family.
Chemotherapy is hard both physically and mentally. You think you’ve reached the peak then a new side effect emerges; you just come to terms with the puffiness from steroids then you loose your hair! It’s hard to not look like a sock person. But it’s such a short season in the big picture.
Now I’m just over a year post-treatment, able to spend time with my gorgeous family, the pain is gone, and my hair is finally growing back. I can honestly say even though we were in the darkest part of our life, we had so many incredible blessings. God is good!"
Danielle began blogging her journey in the middle of her treatments and continues to write today. You can find her blog here The Positive Journey Battling Choriocarcinoma Cancer
