The day was absolutely perfect for us both and a great escape through a trying time. I also had second degree burns to the radiation area, but I was able to cover them with a dressing and a beautiful lace bolero jacket. Although my hair had started to thin and had become brittle, I still had enough for my chosen hairstyle. We decided to still go ahead with our plans regardless of the huge change in circumstances. My first question was if I would have hair, as I had been growing it for the past three years for the big day. The wedding! The date was set four weeks into my radiation therapy. One day, it took eight attempts to find a vein to insert an IV for chemotherapy before they gave up and decided to try again the next day. Since the operation, I can no longer have needles in my right arm, which proved to be quite a pain as I have always had trouble with the veins in my left arm collapsing.
Doctors advised that treatment would hopefully remove what was left.Īfter six weeks of recovery following surgery, I started on 27 doses of radiation to my armpit, upper chest and neck area over five weeks, with one low dose chemotherapy each week to help the radiation take full effect. The mass had now grown to 10 cm in diameter and they couldn't remove all of it, as some of it was attached to the major artery in my arm. I had surgery in mid-August to remove most of the mass and all surrounding lymph nodes. My health and wellbeing had always taken a back seat to that of my children and husband, but now I realise that mine is just as important because they need me." Samantha Mulligan What?! I was only 26 and the mum of three young children! I was busy planning my perfect wedding day! I felt numb. I was terrified when I went to get more information online and read things like: ‘will prove fatal in roughly one-third of patients’, ‘40 times less common than melanoma’ and ‘average patient age 74 years, with 75% over the age of 65 years’.
The mass had almost doubled in size since the first ultrasound less than two weeks before it was now 9 cm.
The diagnosis caught everyone off guard: a rare and aggressive skin cancer known as Merkel cell carcinoma. The biopsy confirmed my worst fear – it was cancer that had metastasised to my lymph nodes. From there, it was a whirlwind of test and scans: a CT, two ultrasounds, mammogram and then finally a guided biopsy, all in less than two weeks. The nerve pinching pain made sense as the mass was constricting the nerves and veins running into my arm. The scan found a 5 cm round solid mass in my armpit. I had the blood test right away but being a Saturday, I waited until the following Monday to have the scan. With little sleep, I went to the doctor’s office first thing the next morning where I was given a referral for a blood test and scan. I felt a lump and from that moment, dread and fear filled my head. One particular night, I was woken by the pain at 1am and had a sudden urge to feel my armpit. But the moment the cream was applied, I felt as though my skin was burning so I immediately washed it off.Ī few weeks later – late July – the pain was so unbearable that it was waking me up at night. A week later, the pain was still there so I went to the see a doctor who prescribed a cream to help ease it. I looked online, hoping to avoid seeing a doctor, and concluded that the pain was probably a result of a nerve being pinched in my back. The feeling was odd – kind of numb, but also burning. In June, I noticed a strange sensation in my upper right arm.