Roxanne's Story

Back in March 2023 I found a lump on my neck whilst I was at work. The next day I had an emergency gp appointment and was told to go A&E to get a quicker scan. Whilst I was there and my appointments following, cancer was never mentioned. But on the 4th May 2023 I was told I had Hodgkins Lymphoma at the age of 16, I was terrified and confused why it happened to me.

I had the best team and the greatest mum in the world who went to every chemo with me, dealt with my grumpy attitude, made me unlimited cups of teas and let me sleep in her bed, all whilst sacrificing her own life for me.

I tried to harvest my eggs before treatment however, they couldn’t collect any as the follicles were empty. They told me I was probably already infertile and after treatment my chance of children would lessen. I didn’t understand or care about this at the time as I was only 16 and wanted to just get through treatment.

I also had my PICC line placed the day after I started chemo but due to me laying down and the tumours in my chest I couldn’t breathe and lost consciousness. Thankfully, they reacted fast and I came to in the room.

I was constantly on edge about the line and it caused me a lot of anxiety but I also couldn’t have gone without it as it saved me having to get a needle in my arm every time.

I started chemo in June, lost my hair, most of my friends drifted from me, I was exhausted, in pain and felt so lonely. But I found joy in the little things and learnt to see the world differently. By September I finished 6 cycles of chemo, but on the day I had my PICC Line taken out I expressed concern about my appetite not coming back and how I felt something was off but I was sadly dismissed.

By November I had my post chemo PET scan which showed activity on my stomach. By December 2023-January 2024 I had 18 rounds of radiotherapy on my abdomen. I really struggled to enjoy Christmas that year due to my appointments and constant nausea and sickness. In April 2024 I had my post radiotherapy PET scan which unfortunately showed the cancer had spread to my chest, neck and lungs.

By May I had started conditioning chemo to allow me to be eligible for an auto stem cell transplant. In August 2024 I was admitted into hospital only a week after my 18th birthday, I started to lose my hair for the second time and couldn’t stand the thought of being apart from my boyfriend.

Once in hospital I had 5 days straight of chemo and then my stems cell back, I was in hospital for 3 weeks. I was fed up, miserable and so lonely I couldn’t breathe. Everyday I begged them to let me leave but my bloods weren’t at a safe enough level.
In December 2024 I had my PET scan results back and I was finally in remission. I had a beautiful remission party where I danced and laughed all night.

I had a fertility consultation and they told me I didn’t need to use any contraceptives as my chances of getting pregnant were basically impossible due to the previous infertility and the amount of treatment I had. I was so torn up by this and even though I didn’t want any kids at the time I still knew what was waiting for me. The following months after I went out everyday, went on holiday and was making the most of life.

In May 2025 were I felt myself beginning to bloat and nothing I was doing was getting rid of it, this immediately caused me to panic so the doctors decided to give me another PET scan to ease my anxieties. I was at home when I was called to go into hospital immediately, I was in bits I felt defeated and didn’t want to go through treatment again.

When I got into the hospital, they told me there was activity on my chest and turns out there was a very grown baby inside of me 🤯. Me and my partner (of 5 years) immediately had an ultrasound where I found out I was 7 months pregnant with a healthy baby boy. I couldn’t believe it, we are only 19 and wasn’t ever expecting this. However, we knew we had to get on with it, we told our loved ones, immediately started buying bits and decided to make the most of our little miracle even if it wasn’t what we had planned.

I also decided to have a biopsy on the activity on my chest as I didn’t want to believe it could be the cancer. Sadly, it was back again and I was about to be a mummy, I felt so guilty and selfish. Fortunately, I was eligible for immunotherapy which I started in September 2025 a month after my little baby Oscar was born. Immunotherapy has next to no side effects and has treated me kindly, I occasionally feel fatigue but who doesn’t when they have a baby. I find myself forgetting I’m on treatment and focusing all my attention onto my little boy and even though i know I need to still focus on me and be proud of myself, I think having Oscar in my life was exactly what I needed to get through this next lots of testament.
I am currently still having immunotherapy as it’s 18 months long but for now my most recent scan has come back that I am yet again in full remission (although I’m having a hard time believing it) and I couldn’t be more thankful. I’ve also just had my first hair cut since losing all my hair and it finally looks and feels intentionally styled likes this 🫶

We are so excited about this break and are truly thankful to Ben and his foundation for making this possible