I was told ‘breathlessness’ was pneumonia but the reality was heartbreaking for my little ones
WHEN mum-of-three Suzy Wheal started to feel breathless in 2019, she knew something wasn't right.
The 41-year-old went to her GP after feeling lightheaded and coughing up blood.
Suzy, who lives in Chichester with her family, was diagnosed with 'walking pneumonia' - which means her symptoms weren't deemed serious enough to require hospitalisation.
For most people with walking pneumonia, the symptoms feel like a common cold.
But the tech entrepreneur's condition didn't ease and she kept going back to see her doctor.
The mum-of-three was referred to see a specialist, and subsequent tests revealed a 12cm cancerous mass wrapped around her heart.
Read more on lymphoma
The 41-year-old was diagnosed with a rare lymphoma - a type of blood cancer.
She is now urging people to be on the look out for any signs and symptoms that are out of the ordinary.
Doctors told Suzy her tumour measured 2cm wide and 10-12cm long and was wrapped around her heart in her chest cavity.
Suzy told The Sun: "Waiting for a diagnosis while I was deteriorating on a daily basis was the hardest thing.
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"What saved me, other than the incredible NHS doctors, was getting the biopsy quickly. If I’d had to wait longer it would have been too late."
Suzy counts herself lucky to have had private medical insurance which meant she was able to book her biopsy fast.
She said that this made the 'biggest difference' to her outcome.
“Once you have a diagnosis, that NHS train moves fast. Within days I was starting chemotherapy at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester", she added.
The complex cancer had caused Suzy's lung to collapse and she also suffered a blood clot.
While she was having chemo, Suzy looked through her available treatment options and it was there that she learnt about proton therapy.
I have three children and my youngest had just turned one, yet here I was looking at maybe a 60 per cent chance of survival. I was in full fight mode
Suzy Wheal
This is a type of radiotherapy that targets cancerous cells with pencil-point precision.
Because of the location of Suzy’s tumour, it was important that treatment did not damage the surrounding organs.
She said: “I have three children and my youngest had just turned one, yet here I was looking at maybe a 60 per cent chance of survival. I was in full fight mode.
“I educated myself and discovered very few people survive a relapse of my particular cancer, so I needed to go full ‘belt and braces’.
“However, with the position of my tumour the radiotherapy dose would have been 360 degrees around my chest, putting me at risk of secondary cancers in my breasts, spine, lungs and heart.”
Whilst researching her condition, Suzy came across a paper on proton therapy for lymphoma by researchers at the University of Oxford and the Proton Therapy Center in Prague, Czech Republic.
Proton therapy was not available to Suzy on the NHS.
What are the symptoms of lymphoma?
Lymphoma is a broad term for cancer that begins in the cells of the lymph nodes.
Signs and symptoms of lymphoma may include:
- Painless swelling of lymph nodes in your neck, armpits or groin
- Persistent fatigue
- Fever
- Night sweats
- Shortness of breath
- Unexplained weight loss
- Itchy skin
You should always see a doctor if you have any persistent signs or symptoms that worry you.
Source: Mayo Clinic
At first her medical insurer rejected her claim, but eventually agreed to pay towards treatment at the Proton Therapy Center in Prague, Czech Republic.
Suzy said: “My husband was at home with the children and I came home at weekends.
“I went out for three weeks and the treatment was really easy. It was completely silent. I was tired but I didn’t have crushing fatigue.
“Now I’ve got hair again, my energy is back and my youngest has just turned four. Looking back on that year I realise how fortunate I am.
“My message to anyone who feels something isn’t right is, if you can, invest in getting a speedy diagnosis. The NHS cancer treatment is phenomenal but they can’t do everything.
“My whole outlook was if this is my time, that's fine, but I want to know without a doubt that I have done everything possible to survive.”
Dr Katerina Dedeckova, a radiation oncologist at the Proton Therapy Center, also helped author the paper Suzy had discovered.
The paper has been published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology.
Dr Dedeckova said the aim of the study had been to help to identify those patients who are expected to benefit most from proton radiotherapy with respect to reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular toxicity and treatment-induced tumours.
“The uniqueness of this study lies in the fact that we compared the most advanced proton radiotherapy technique available (pencil beam scanning in maximal controlled breathing) with the most advanced photon radiation techniques available for mediastinal irradiation.
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“The study should help oncologists to select those patients for whom proton radiotherapy, which is currently more expensive and difficult to access compared to standard proton radiotherapy, will likely provide substantially lower risk of damage to vital organs", Dr Dedeckova explained.
Suzy is now recovering at home with her family.
