Plymouth mum’s fight to survive after developing lumps and 'itchy skin'

A Plymouth mum who thought her symptoms were nothing to be concerned about found herself facing cancer. Having just got over a cold, the young woman assumed her neck lump was a swollen gland at first.

Laura Barsley noticed a lump in her lower neck - which a doctor also thought was a swollen gland - she assumed it would “settle down” in time. But a month later, while on holiday in Turkey, the 33-year-old noticed the lump had “become enlarged and much harder than before”.

The neck lump was also “tender to touch” and at the time, Laura had also noticed itchy skin which seemed “worse at night”. When she got back from Turkey, the 33-year-old made a GP appointment, after a “good feel” of Laura's neck the doctor referred her to oncology.

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Laura said: “At this point I had a feeling something bad was wrong. I had only been home from the GP a few hours and got a call to arrange a hospital appointment for the following week. It felt like a very long week, and I spent it sick with worry.

“By the time I went along to my first hospital appointment, a few more lumps had appeared and due to the size of the lumps, they said they wanted me to have a core biopsy. I had to go home and return later that day for the procedure. What was only a few hours felt like weeks, and I was terrified.

“While the team was taking the biopsy from my neck, I looked at the ultrasound screen and saw where the lumps were. I could see they were outlined in orange and from this moment I just knew it was cancer. The doctor remained positive and tried to reassure me, but my mind was wandering in all directions thinking my life was over.”

Laura got the results a week later in October 2023 and she felt “sick and anxious” when the day arrived. She’d already convinced herself she had cancer and when she entered the room and sat down she said “the look on the doctor’s face said it all”. It was then that she was told she had lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.

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At the time, Laura’s daughter Ava had just turned one. Laura’s partner Stephen was also by her side, but she began to worry about how she would cope with “day-to-day living and looking after her daughter”.

A couple of weeks after the biopsy, Laura went back to the hospital for a scan to see if the cancer had spread. She was injected with a radioactive substance and scanned from head to toe - and got the results a week later.

She said: “It had spread to my spleen and I had a small mass behind my chest. I then received my full diagnosis of stage 3 Hodgkin lymphoma. In a way I was relieved I finally knew how bad it was and that plans could now be made to get rid of it. I knew that beyond that, I could live the rest of my life with my little family.”

The doctor reassured her that, with the right treatment, her prognosis was good. However, Laura was told she would need chemotherapy and that she would lose her hair.

She said: “This was a difficult thing to come to terms with after spending lots of money and time on my hair (and of course my signature fringe!). But telling my family and friends was by far the hardest thing.

“I was told I would need six cycles of ABVD chemotherapy, and my first chemotherapy day took place on 8 November 2023. It was a day full of mixed emotions. This might sound strange to some, but I was actually excited to just get going with it all.

“Stephen packed a bag full of treats to see us through the next few hours of being in hospital. I was greeted by some lovely nurses who took my observations and made me as comfortable as possible ready to begin the first round of chemo. It was a little overwhelming and I remember feeling so tired when I got home that day.

“From that day on, that was my new normal, with chemo day taking place every two weeks on a Wednesday. On my second session it took seven attempts to get the canula in as my veins had already decreased in size, making it more difficult for them to get it in.

“For me the worst part in all of this was losing my hair. It was my identity and just the thought of it falling out was very traumatic. I was told it usually starts to fall out after the second round of chemo, and they were right. The day after my second round I was in the shower and the first clump of hair fell to the floor as I brushed it. This was heart-breaking, but I knew it meant the chemo was working and doing its job. I decided to shave my hair off, as I had purchased a few wigs and the thought of being left with random strands of hair would have upset me even more.”

As the months went by, Laura had five hospital admissions - mainly due to becoming neutropenic and not being able to fight infections alone without intravenous antibiotics. But finally, her last chemo day was in April 2024 which Laura described as a “very surreal day”.

Then in June 2024, despite being “convinced the cancer was returning” Laura celebrated the “best day ever” as she was told she was in complete remission. Charity Lymphoma Action helped support Laura after her diagnosis - along with her family and friends.

Laura said: “I had never heard about lymphoma before my diagnosis so it was very new to me. If there’s one thing I took from all of this it’s to live each day as though it’s your last as you just don’t know what’s round the corner. I was one of the lucky ones and for that I am forever grateful.”

Lymphoma is a type of cancer that develops from white blood cells (lymphocytes), these white blood cells usually fight infection in the human body. The cancerous lymphocytes multiply and collect in the lymph nodes in the body when a person has lymphoma.

You can find out more about the disease by visiting Lymphoma Action - the UK's only charity dedicated to lymphoma.