{"id":27442,"date":"2021-09-15T08:04:26","date_gmt":"2021-09-15T08:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.cancerresearchuk.org\/?p=23551"},"modified":"2024-11-03T15:14:29","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T15:14:29","slug":"coronavirus-reports-part-10-i-didnt-see-my-mum-before-i-went-into-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/coronavirus-reports-part-10-i-didnt-see-my-mum-before-i-went-into-surgery\/","title":{"rendered":"Coronavirus reports \u2013 Part 10: \u201cI didn\u2019t see my mum before I went into surgery\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Rebecca<\/p>\n

Rebecca and her family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This Childhood Cancer Awareness Month,<\/span> we c<\/span><\/span>aught up with<\/span> families who have been affected by<\/span> and young people\u2019s<\/span> cancer<\/span>s<\/span> to find out how the coronavirus pandemic has<\/span> impacted<\/span> them and their<\/span> loved<\/span> in the last instalment of our coronavirus reports series<\/span><\/span>.<\/span>..<\/span><\/span> <\/em><\/p>\n

Sneha: \u201cI didn\u2019t see my mum before I went into surgery\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n

Sneha was diagnosed<\/span> with a fast growing<\/span> glioblastoma multiforme<\/span><\/a> in March 2021, at just 17 years old.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was sudden. \u201cI started getting migraines at the start of March 2021. The following week, I couldn\u2019t eat or drink without being sick.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Because of the pandemic, Sneha went to A&E by herself, but, following some initial tests, they didn\u2019t keep her in overnight. At the same time as the headaches and sickness, Sneha was experience eye pain, so went to see an optician. The optician could see there was something wrong with the back of her eye and on March 13<\/span>th<\/span>, she went back to A&E with her mum.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sneha was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiform when she was 17 years old.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

After further tests, Sneha was told she had a tumour in her brain. \u201cWe had gone in [to A&E] in the evening and it was 10pm when we saw the doctor, and it was the middle of the night when I was sent by ambulance to John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford for more tests. Because of COVID-19, my mum was not allowed to come with me in the ambulance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>I was in pain, and I wanted her to come, but she wasn\u2019t allowed<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The following day, Sneha underwent emergency surgery. \u201cI didn\u2019t see my mum before I went into surgery, but she was there when I woke up at around 8pm that night. She was allowed to come back every day then, and her and my younger sister have been really supportive,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following surgery and a diagnosis of high grade glioblastoma, Sneha<\/span> started radiotherapy and a course of chemotherapy. \u201cMy dad lives in Switzerland but came back and had to isolate before he could come to help and take me to radiotherapy,\u201d Sneha adds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sneha is now being treated with chemotherapy, which is due to finish at the beginning of next year.<\/span> She\u2019s looking forward to<\/span> going travelling and being more independent when she finally finishes her treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tracy and Rebecca: \u201cIt is hard not to have that contact with other people\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n

In 2014, when Rebecca was 8 years old, she was diagnosed with<\/span> rhabdomyosarcoma<\/span><\/a>, a type of soft tissue sarcoma. Her initial treatment finished in October 2015, but since then the cancer has come back 3 times.<\/span><\/p>\n

In early 2020, Rebecca had another round of chemotherapy, followed by surgery. And when the pandemic brought the world to what felt like a standstill in March, Rebecca was advised to isolate.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rebecca\u2019s mum completely understood the need for precautions, but says it hasn\u2019t made it easier on the family \u2013 particularly when it came to hospital appointments.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt the start of the pandemic, we suddenly moved to being at home, and having phone calls instead of face-to-face consultations,\u201d says Rebecca\u2019s mum, Tracy.<\/span><\/p>\n

This change was disheartening as for Rebecca, many of her appointments were hands-on, to feel for lumps.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat \u201csecurity blanket\u201d of appointments was gone,\u201d Tracy explains. \u201cAt the same time, we heard stories of staff at the hospital being affected by COVID-19, and one of Rebecca\u2019s nurses sadly died, which had a huge impact on the community here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the midst of the pandemic, Rebecca\u2019s cancer came back and she needed to start treatment again. But with new restrictions and protocols, everything was different this time around.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Rebecca was first diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma in 2014.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cShe was poorly one day at 5am, and we had to go to A&E for 3 hours to get admitted to the ward before getting<\/span> a platelet<\/span> transfusion<\/span><\/a> \u2013 it took all day and we got home in the evening. Two hours later, her temperature spiked again, and we had to do 3 more hours in A&E to be back on the ward again after midnight,\u201d says Tracy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes everything so much more uncomfortable for Rebecca as she is always being moved and can\u2019t rest. It\u2019s frustrating, but it\u2019s Rebecca who bears the brunt of it. Having cancer is hard enough as it is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And the restrictions haven\u2019t just affected Rebecca\u2019s treatment. \u201cWhen we heard Rebecca relapsed, I was told the news on my own. It\u2019s so hard to hear news like this, try to take it in, ask questions and then drive home.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith our son Jake too, this \u201cone-parent\u201d rule has been hard, especially when there was a COVID-19 case in his class and we had to keep him apart from Rebecca in case it meant she could not have her treatment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond their family unit, Tracy says the pandemic has shattered the sense of community on the children\u2019s cancer wards. \u201cAs you can\u2019t mix so much, it is so much more lonely. We don\u2019t have the connections that have helped us through the experience for so many years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOn top of everything, we don\u2019t know if we are wasting precious time with Rebecca \u2013 we know the future is uncertain and we want to be making memories. That has made all of the isolation and restrictions so much harder \u2013 we want to be making the most of every moment with her.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Kian and Keri: \u201cWe felt very alone\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n

Kian, 11, began to notice that he was losing weight and was lethargic in early 2020, says his mum Keri.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe was tired after school and we took him to the doctor in March who said he should have some blood tests done. At that time COVID-19 was starting to really take over the news and it meant that the tests got cancelled,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, we understood how the pandemic was affecting everything, so we waited but the tests got more delayed and he was still so poorly. We started to worry and were pushing to get the tests done. It was incredibly stressful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually, Kian was diagnosed with<\/span> chronic myeloid leukaemia<\/span><\/a>, a type of blood cancer, in July.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Kian was admitted to Great Ormond Street Hospital, Keri was the only one allowed to go with him.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kian was diagnosed with a type of leukaemia in 2020.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWhen we were there, it was so isolating. There was so much to take in and I felt so petrified of COVID-19 even in the hospital wards. The staff were brilliant, but the children couldn\u2019t mix and there was only one parent allowed in the kitchen at any time. We felt very alone, and I remember Kian had to walk on his own to have a bone marrow biopsy \u2013 that was hard not to be able to be with him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When they got home after that, Kian continued his treatment<\/a><\/span>. Keri says that they cut themselves off as much as they could to reduce any chance of them becoming ill with COVID-19, which despite the isolation came with some positives.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband is usually away with work but he was there and we were together as a family to deal with it. And lockdown took some pressure away too \u2013 Kian was with us all the time and we didn\u2019t have to make any excuses for not going to things \u2013 as those things weren\u2019t happening anyway. Another positive is that everyone is washing their hands a lot more and is so aware of how important that is \u2013 we are happy with that!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But despite doing everything they could, Keri and her husband, and Kian\u2019s brother and sister all tested positive for COVID-19 last December.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThankfully Kian was the only one not to get it, but we were so scared, wearing gloves and keeping apart in different rooms. We were so worried that, if he had had any medical issue at that time, he might have had to go in by himself as we would not have been allowed to go with him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Whilst his mum says he is still having the ups and downs of treatment and side effects, Kian started secondary school this month.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith COVID-19 and the treatment, we are still trying to find a balance between keeping him safe and giving him normality.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to Sneha, Kian and Keri, and Tracy and Rebecca for sharing their experiences with our Media Volunteer Liaison team.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

If you would like to share your story with us, please visit our<\/span><\/em> website<\/span><\/em><\/a>. And if you have questions about cancer, you can talk to our nurses Monday to Friday, 9-5pm, on freephone 0808 800 4040.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

More on this topic<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rebecca and her family. This Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, we caught up with families who have been affected by and young people\u2019s cancers to find out how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted them and their loved in the last instalment of our coronavirus reports series… Sneha: \u201cI didn\u2019t see my mum before I went into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5137],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27442"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27442\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45177,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27442\/revisions\/45177"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ogkologos.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}