Pam Green, of Andreas Avenue, Walney, was given the devastating news that she had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in February 2014 and underwent intense chemotherapy in Barrow.
However, the cancer returned and the 44-year-old needed to be transferred to The Christie Hospital in Manchester, a specialist cancer site, for months of gruelling treatment.
The mother-of-one endured intense full-body radiation to kill the cancer cells and stop them from spreading.
To her huge relief, a stem cell donor was found for Mrs Green through the Anthony Nolan Register and she received the vital stem cell transplant on Christmas Eve – something she views as the best festive present she will ever get.
Mrs Green said: “There are a lot of people who don’t have a match. I’m very lucky.
“They say full-body radiation is one of the hardest treatments around but the aim was to get the cancer under control so I could have the stem cell transplant.
“I’m overwhelmed by it.”
Following the stem cell transplant, Mrs Green developed pneumonia and spent several weeks in a medically induced coma.
She needed to learn to walk and talk again afterwards due to the fragile nature of her body – something she describes as the biggest challenge of her life.
She said: “People usually stay in hospital for four weeks after the transplant but unfortunately I got pneumonia. I was near enough in there for 10 weeks.
“I needed to learn to walk and talk. It was about starting from scratch.
“It was tough but I was just thinking about beating the cancer and getting better.”
Mrs Green is now in remission and a three-month scan following the transplant found no cancer cells.
The news was a huge relief and Mrs Green has a new-found appreciation for life after the ordeal. She is enjoying her time back at home and spending time with her family, especially her four-year-old son, Cayden.
She said: “It’s amazing. We need to carefully monitor things with my immune system but I can cope with chest infections and things like that. The amount of support I’ve had is absolutely amazing.”
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a blood cancer that appears as a tumour in the glands. Treatment by stem cell transplant is only feasible for patients who are in good general health and whose lymphoma is difficult to treat with chemotherapy alone.
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