11 March 2013
This Mother’s Day, a young mum who had a rare form of cancer that mimics pregnancy is saying thank you to our hospital for helping to keep her family together.
Frankie Wedgewood, 22, from Malton, North Yorkshire, and her fiancé Will, 25, welcomed their first son, Freddy, in to the world in September 2011.But just six months later Frankie was being treated in Sheffield on our Teenage Cancer Unit (TCU) after discovering she was ‘pregnant’ again.
Frankie’s rare form of cancer was discovered in March 2012 when she went to her doctor with stomach pains and initial tests showed that she was pregnant.
Frankie said: “I knew I wasn’t pregnant though as my fiancé is in the Army and had been away serving so it was impossible! At first the GP thought I had an ectopic pregnancy, but tests revealed this wasn’t the case and nothing showed up on scans.
“It was a confusing time, I just didn’t have a clue what was going on. I was then transferred to Weston Park Hospital for scans and further tests.”
Doctors discovered Frankie had Choriocarcinoma – a quick-growing form of cancer that originates from a pregnancy but can spread anywhere in the body. Choriocarcinoma is a type of Gestational Trophoblastic Disease (GTD), which does not develop from cells of the uterus like cervical cancer or endometrial (uterine lining) cancer do. Instead, these tumors start in the cells that would normally develop into the placenta during pregnancy and can continue to grow even after the placenta is removed.
Most GTDs are benign (not cancerous) and they don't invade deeply into body tissues or spread to other parts of the body. Some however, are malignant (cancerous). All forms of GTD can be treated and in most cases the treatment produces a complete cure.
This type of cancer produces the pregnancy hormone, HCG, and so a pregnancy test will show as positive even if a woman isn’t pregnant.
Frankie was treated at Weston Park Hospital due to the hospital’s specialist expertise in this area. It is one of only two centres in the United Kingdom to treat patients with this condition. Weston Park treats around 40 – 50 women a year with this rare form of cancer.
Jan Everard, Weston Park Hospital GTD Consultant Nurse, said: “We monitor on average 600 patients a year, of those only about 40 patients require chemotherapy.
“Weston Park Hospital, along with Charing Cross Hospital in London, set up a national screening and treatment Centre in the 1970’s. We monitor patients from north of Birmingham, up to the Scottish border and from North Wales, research has shown the importance of centralised care for improving outcomes for patients with such a rare cancer.
"Our patients are mainly young women, often with young families who are a long way from home and we are proud to be able to offer such family centred care on our Teenage Cancer Unit.”
Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity helps to fund the work of the specialist unit, which provides a friendly environment where patients can receive not only the medical care and emotional support of specialists, but an environment designed to be suitable for young people.
Funds raised by the charity help to provide a ‘home from home’ feel to the Teenage Cancer Unit along with a range of recreational and social activities, all of which allow patients to develop, be empowered and deal with their diagnosis while receiving treatment.
Although the Teenage Cancer Unit is an important area of funding, the Cancer Charity also funds a wide range of other projects and this year needs to raise £1.5million in order to continue to support pioneering world class research and to help improve the treatments and care for people living with cancer.
Frankie said: “It was all a bit of a shock, but I felt in safe hands at Weston Park. All the staff were great and explained everything really well.”
She started a four month course of chemotherapy in March 2011 and was treated on the TCU where baby Freddie was also able to stay with her.
The purpose built, specialist unit was opened in 2002 and has been designed for the treatment of young people aged 16-25 years who have cancer.
Frankie, who was working as a nursery nurse before her diagnosis, added: “What made things a lot easier during my treatment is that
Freddy was allowed to stay overnight with me when I was on the TCU.
“From August to November I started my second round of treatment, which was a bit harder as Freddy was one year-old, but he is a good child and Will was granted leave from the Army to help look after us. My mum also lives close to me so she was a big support.
“One of the side effects of the chemotherapy was losing all my hair, but that didn’t really bother me as I thought I would be able to try out lots of new wigs and different styles! The most annoying thing was drawing my eyebrows on every morning!”
“I’ve now completed my treatment and I’m being closely monitored and will return to Weston Park Hospital soon for check-ups. The nurses are great and if I have any problems or queries I know I can contact them.
“But now I am looking forward to my first real Mother’s Day, free from worry, and will be thinking of all the amazing staff that helped to get me here.
"My mum recently undertook a sponsored silence to raise money for Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity as a small token of our family's appreciation for all the wonderful staff at the hospital."
To find out more about Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity visit www.wphcancercharity.org.uk or call 0114 226 5370.
