Businesswoman raises awareness of little-known form of cancer (From Gazette Series)

Uley businesswoman raises awareness of little-known form of cancer

2:30pm Friday 3rd February 2012 in Gloucestershire news By Liza-Jane Gillespie

A MOTHER from Uley is helping to raise awareness of a little-known form of cancer.

Businesswoman Ruth Cornish, 45, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in August last year.

She said: "I was organising the Uley School fete and I was really busy and felt a bit tired. Then I found a lump in my neck. I went to the doctor a few times and on the third visit I was sent to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital for a biopsy."

Ruth underwent several tests, the first two were inconclusive but the third came back as non-Hodgkin lymphoma. She was finally diagnosed on August 18 and treatment started on August 30.

Since last August Ruth has had three lots of chemotherapy and 15 lots of radiotherapy, some of which happened over Christmas.

She said: "My treatment finished three weeks ago and I’ve started to go back to real life. I went back to yoga last week and my hair is starting to grow back."

Ruth, who runs her own HR consultancy business, is helping to raise awareness of lymphoma, the UK’s fifth most common cancer, as part of World Cancer Day tomorrow.

She said: "I had heard of lymphoma before I was diagnosed, but I had no idea that it was cancer."

Every year, more than 13,400 cases of lymphoma are diagnosed in the UK.

Lymphomas are cancers of the lymphatic system, which forms part of the body’s immune system. The most common symptom is a painless lump or swelling, often in the neck, armpit or groin. Other common symptoms include excessive sweating, especially at night, unexplained loss of weight, unusual tiredness, a cough or breathlessness and persistent itching.

Ruth said: "My advice would be don’t ignore anything. I had to go to a GP three times to get referred. It’s about listening to your body.

"Being healthy won’t stop you getting cancer but actually being fit and healthy will help you with the treatment."

She added: "The other thing I realised is one in three people get cancer but one in three people don’t die. There are so many success stories. Getting cancer is not the death sentence it once was."

Anyone affected by lymphoma can call The Lymphoma Association’s freephone helpline on 0808 808 5555 or email information@lymphomas.org.uk