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| “It all began when Sean found a lump on his chin,” says full-time mum Loretta. “I hadn’t even noticed it. But working as a window cleaner Sean has regular customers and a couple of them had asked him about it.” |
Happy families again after two cancer battles: Sutton Coldfield mum Loretta Haughey thought her life was falling apart when both her partner Sean and young son Ryan were diagnosed with cancer just four weeks apart. “It all began when Sean found a lump on his chin,” says full-time mum Loretta.
“I hadn’t even noticed it. But working as a window cleaner Sean has regular customers and a couple of them had asked him about it.” Loretta’s partner Sean Connolly, 46, visited his GP surgery but was told by a locum-doctor that the lump was nothing to be concerned about. However, one of Sean’s customers, a radiographer, told him that she was concerned that the lump was suspicious and pressed him to look into it further.
Just a couple of weeks later Sean and Loretta, 32, were told that the swelling was in fact a symptom of non-Hodkins lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. The couple, whose son was just 22 months old at the time, were in a state of shock, but were relieved to find that they had caught the cancer early. “Around the time that Sean was having tests at hospital, Ryan had also become poorly,” explains Loretta. “He had a temperature, was pale and had a lump on his tummy. It bothered me.”
Worried, Loretta and Sean, who have been together for 14 years, then took toddler Ryan to the GP surgery where Ryan was examined by another locum-doctor. The doctor told me that the tummy lump was a hernia and nothing suspicious,” says Loretta. “But a couple of weeks later we decided we wanted a second opinion as his temperature had still not subsided.” At that time Ryan’s temperature was over 40 degrees and he was taken into the children’s ward at Good Hope Hospital, after the family visited the out-of-hours Badger Clinic.
After being kept in overnight, Ryan was given an ultrasound scan which revealed a mass on his kidney. “The consultant told us there was a tumour on his kidney, but didn’t say the word cancer at that time. “Our world just fell apart. “We had gone to the hospital thinking he might have a virus and now we were getting transferred to the oncology ward at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.”
Ryan had a biopsy which confirmed that he had a Wilms tumour, a type of cancer of the kidney. The little boy would need pre-operative chemotherapy in an attempt to shrink the tumour and harden the tumour to facilitate surgery. But the chemotherapy would make the tiny tot feel very poorly and Loretta and Sean could only sit by his bedside, as he would feel too ill to move around the ward.
“At the time we felt utterly devastated,” says Loretta. “I felt angry that this could happen not only to my partner but our beautiful, innocent baby boy. “I remember coming home from hospital the day after we had been dealt this devastating news about Ryan. I went to his room to pack some clothes and I looked in his cot and burst into tears. “I was terrified my baby had been handed a death sentence and remember thinking he may never sleep in his little cot again.”
Meanwhile, Sean began 12 sessions of radiotherapy treatment at Little Aston Hospital. Fortunately, he was able to arrange his appointments in order to be at Ryan’s bedside as much as possible. “People would ask me how I was coping and I honestly don’t know,” admits Loretta. “You get given dates and appointments and you just focus on the next date that you are given.” On July 19, Ryan was then ready for surgery to remove the tumour, as well as his left kidney. It was after the operation that his parents were told the cancer was at stage three, meaning that the tumour had spread beyond the kidney, and Ryan would require a further 26 sessions of chemotherapy.
Finally, in May 2012, Ryan finished his treatment, and since then his regular scans have been coming back clear. Sean has also been given the all-clear. “We survived the whole thing in a blur,” says Loretta. “We would take each day as it came and focused on keeping our gorgeous boy well and as happy as possible.”
Now Loretta admits that the family have a new perspective on life, and are trying to raise as much money as possible for the new cancer unit appeal at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, which aims to raise £4 million to update the cancer unit facilities at the hospital. “We have learned to appreciate life and our family time together,” says Loretta.
Now the family are working hard to raise money for the cancer unit appeal, with Loretta and some of her close family raising £4,500 by running the Birmingham Half Marathon last year. “We are eternally grateful for what they have done for us,” says Loretta. “This is why we feel it is so important to raise money towards the cancer centre appeal so that the oncology ward and day clinic can be revamped so it is modernised, brightened and made more comfortable for the many children and families who will be given the devastating diagnosis of childhood cancer.”
Non Hodgkin lymphoma
The most common symptom of non Hodgkin lymphoma is one or more painless swellings in the neck, armpit, groin. Each swelling is an enlarged lymph node. If you have a swollen lymph node that does not go away after six weeks, you should see your GP. You may have other general symptoms such as:
* Heavy sweating at night
* Temperatures that come and go with no obvious cause
* Losing a lot of weight (more than one tenth of your total weight)
* Some people may also have unexplained itching.
“I hadn’t even noticed it. But working as a window cleaner Sean has regular customers and a couple of them had asked him about it.” Loretta’s partner Sean Connolly, 46, visited his GP surgery but was told by a locum-doctor that the lump was nothing to be concerned about. However, one of Sean’s customers, a radiographer, told him that she was concerned that the lump was suspicious and pressed him to look into it further.
Just a couple of weeks later Sean and Loretta, 32, were told that the swelling was in fact a symptom of non-Hodkins lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. The couple, whose son was just 22 months old at the time, were in a state of shock, but were relieved to find that they had caught the cancer early. “Around the time that Sean was having tests at hospital, Ryan had also become poorly,” explains Loretta. “He had a temperature, was pale and had a lump on his tummy. It bothered me.”
Worried, Loretta and Sean, who have been together for 14 years, then took toddler Ryan to the GP surgery where Ryan was examined by another locum-doctor. The doctor told me that the tummy lump was a hernia and nothing suspicious,” says Loretta. “But a couple of weeks later we decided we wanted a second opinion as his temperature had still not subsided.” At that time Ryan’s temperature was over 40 degrees and he was taken into the children’s ward at Good Hope Hospital, after the family visited the out-of-hours Badger Clinic.
After being kept in overnight, Ryan was given an ultrasound scan which revealed a mass on his kidney. “The consultant told us there was a tumour on his kidney, but didn’t say the word cancer at that time. “Our world just fell apart. “We had gone to the hospital thinking he might have a virus and now we were getting transferred to the oncology ward at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.”
Ryan had a biopsy which confirmed that he had a Wilms tumour, a type of cancer of the kidney. The little boy would need pre-operative chemotherapy in an attempt to shrink the tumour and harden the tumour to facilitate surgery. But the chemotherapy would make the tiny tot feel very poorly and Loretta and Sean could only sit by his bedside, as he would feel too ill to move around the ward.
“At the time we felt utterly devastated,” says Loretta. “I felt angry that this could happen not only to my partner but our beautiful, innocent baby boy. “I remember coming home from hospital the day after we had been dealt this devastating news about Ryan. I went to his room to pack some clothes and I looked in his cot and burst into tears. “I was terrified my baby had been handed a death sentence and remember thinking he may never sleep in his little cot again.”
Meanwhile, Sean began 12 sessions of radiotherapy treatment at Little Aston Hospital. Fortunately, he was able to arrange his appointments in order to be at Ryan’s bedside as much as possible. “People would ask me how I was coping and I honestly don’t know,” admits Loretta. “You get given dates and appointments and you just focus on the next date that you are given.” On July 19, Ryan was then ready for surgery to remove the tumour, as well as his left kidney. It was after the operation that his parents were told the cancer was at stage three, meaning that the tumour had spread beyond the kidney, and Ryan would require a further 26 sessions of chemotherapy.
Finally, in May 2012, Ryan finished his treatment, and since then his regular scans have been coming back clear. Sean has also been given the all-clear. “We survived the whole thing in a blur,” says Loretta. “We would take each day as it came and focused on keeping our gorgeous boy well and as happy as possible.”
Now Loretta admits that the family have a new perspective on life, and are trying to raise as much money as possible for the new cancer unit appeal at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, which aims to raise £4 million to update the cancer unit facilities at the hospital. “We have learned to appreciate life and our family time together,” says Loretta.
Now the family are working hard to raise money for the cancer unit appeal, with Loretta and some of her close family raising £4,500 by running the Birmingham Half Marathon last year. “We are eternally grateful for what they have done for us,” says Loretta. “This is why we feel it is so important to raise money towards the cancer centre appeal so that the oncology ward and day clinic can be revamped so it is modernised, brightened and made more comfortable for the many children and families who will be given the devastating diagnosis of childhood cancer.”
Non Hodgkin lymphoma
The most common symptom of non Hodgkin lymphoma is one or more painless swellings in the neck, armpit, groin. Each swelling is an enlarged lymph node. If you have a swollen lymph node that does not go away after six weeks, you should see your GP. You may have other general symptoms such as:
* Heavy sweating at night
* Temperatures that come and go with no obvious cause
* Losing a lot of weight (more than one tenth of your total weight)
* Some people may also have unexplained itching.
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