An expectant mother is diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy has told how he overlooked his “strange” symptoms.
Caitlin McAlinden, from Wirral, suffered severe morning sickness in her “difficult” first trimester and was vomiting at least once a day.
The 24-year-old, who discovered she was pregnant in September 2023, fell asleep intermittently due to extreme fatigue.
Fatigue and nausea are common among pregnant women, especially during the first 12 weeks.
McAlinden, whose due date is in May, noticed a pea-sized lump on her neck on Christmas Day. He also realized that he had lost second place.
Caitlin McAlinden, 24, attributed her cancer symptoms (including a golf ball-sized lump on her neck, nausea and fatigue) to morning sickness.
However, she did not immediately seek help, instead believing the lump and neck pain to be another “strange” effect of pregnancy.
When Ms McAlinden’s fatigue worsened in early 2024 and her lump tripled in size to that of a “golf ball”, she visited her GP.
Tests then revealed that the primary school teacher had Stage one Hodgkin lymphoma.
Unintentional weight loss and swelling in the neck can be telltale signs of the disease, says Cancer Research UK.
However, Mrs McAlinden, who was diagnosed in March, will not start chemotherapy until her son is born.
She said: ‘This is not the pregnancy I expected.
‘I haven’t felt well all this time.
“Everything I want to do after my baby is born has to be put on hold because of chemotherapy.”
Ms McAlinden added: “My chances are really good, but having my baby will be a good distraction from everything I’m going through.”
McAlinden discovered she was pregnant on September 16, 2023, after feeling nauseous at her birthday dinner the week before.
Her partner Connor, 27 (pictured), a procurement manager, urged her to have the lump examined by a doctor.
He is expected to make a full recovery, although he must receive a steroid injection and a blood-thinning pill every morning as part of his treatment.
Cancer Research UK says chemotherapy “can usually be given” to women who are 14 weeks pregnant, but not before because it can harm the baby or cause a miscarriage.
Their advice says: “Sometimes you can delay chemotherapy until your baby is born, although this is not always possible.”
McAlinden discovered she was pregnant on September 16, after feeling nauseous at her birthday dinner the week before.
Because morning sickness usually goes away between 16 and 20 weeks and can last even longer, according to the NHS, Ms McAlinden didn’t think her vomiting was strange.
It wasn’t until Christmas Day that she first noticed pain in her neck that led her to find the lump.
Mrs McAlinden, originally from Northern Ireland, said: ‘I returned to County Armagh to visit my family for Christmas.
‘I remember Christmas Day, I fell asleep on the couch and woke up with a lot of neck pain.
‘I thought I had slept strangely, but I started massaging my neck. That’s when I found a lump, the size of a pea.
McAlinden described her first trimester as “difficult,” vomiting at least once a day and falling asleep intermittently throughout the day. It wasn’t until Christmas Day that she first noticed pain in her neck and after weighing her, she noticed that she had lost two kilos, which can be a sign of cancer.
Speaking about how her symptoms worsened, Ms McAlinden added: “I was very, very tired.
‘Going up the stairs alone would make me need to lie down.
“One day I felt my neck again and the lump had become the size of a golf ball.”
Her partner, Connor, 27, a procurement manager, urged her to have the lump examined by a doctor.
On January 2 she visited her GP and was referred for an ultrasound of her neck.
She had a biopsy on January 16 and the doctor asked Ms McAlinden if she had a family history of Hodgkin lymphoma.
She told them that one of her second cousins ​​had gone through this years before and they urgently sent her for more blood tests.
“My doctor’s demeanor completely changed when I told him I had a family history,” she said.
“I went for a blood test the same day.”
Two months later he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The mum-to-be says her partner Connor has been her ‘rock’ throughout the whole ordeal, and the couple have since discovered they are having a baby – but are keeping his name a secret.
Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of cancer that starts in the white blood cells.
A painless swelling in a lymph node is the most common symptom. This swelling can occur in the neck, armpit or groin, according to Cancer Research UK.
If you have an infection, lymph nodes commonly become swollen, but they usually return to their normal size after a short time.
However, in the case of lymphoma, they often grow slowly and can remain there for months or years before they are noticed. But sometimes they grow very quickly.
Around 2,000 Britons are diagnosed with cancer each year.
It can also cause shortness of breath and tiredness due to anemia from a low red blood cell count, an increased risk of infections due to a low white blood cell count, and bleeding problems such as nosebleeds and heavy periods.
Like Ms. McAlinden, many people with Hodgkin lymphoma also experience unintentional weight loss.
When he was diagnosed with the problem in March, he immediately began steroid treatment to reduce the mass in his neck.
She has been told she will not need surgery and doctors are confident she will be able to start chemotherapy after her due date of May 8.
Cancer Research UK explains that the placenta acts as the barrier between expectant mothers and baby, and only some medications can cross this barrier.
Chemotherapy will prevent Mrs McAlinden from celebrating a baptism or breastfeeding, which is not recommended because the powerful drugs can pass through milk.
She said: ‘In Catholic culture, we are expected to baptize our baby within the first few days of their birth.
‘But that coincides with chemotherapy, so I can’t.
“I really wanted to breastfeed, but chemotherapy also prevents me from doing so.”