Caitlin McAliden, a 24 year old teacher from Northern Ireland discovered she was pregnant last September. Throughout the Autumn, she experienced severe morning sickness and fatigue which she attributed to her pregnancy. By December, she realized she had lost 14 kg (or almost 30 lbs) and she had a golf-ball sized lump on her neck and her fatigue was extreme.

She was referred to a blood specialist, who biopsied the lump on her neck (a swollen lymph node) and diagnosed her with Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. She is currently being treated with steroid injections and blood thinners. After her son is born in May, she will begin chemo and is expected to make a full recovery.

Severe morning sickness isn’t something you should just try to power through, talk to your doctor about treatment options and to rule out underlying conditions. This is not the first time someone has mistook cancer for symptoms of their pregnancy. Last year, BBC reported on Louise Beevers whose doctors believed the lump in her breast to be pregnancy-related but it turned out to be stage IV breast cancer which had metastasized into her lungs.

Sources:

Moss, Alex and Caroline Bilton. 11 Dec 2023. “‘Cancer found in pregnancy has robbed me of seeing my baby grow.’” BBC.

Mal, Nisha. 12 Apr 2024. “NI teacher’s warning sign after morning sickness turned out to be cancer.” Belfast Live.