South Yorkshire mum mistook hot flushes and extreme fatigue as post-partum recovery before lymphoma diagnosis
After going to the GP, Courtney says she feels "lucky" that she got her diagnosis so quickly
A first-time mum from South Yorkshire initially mistook hot flushes and extreme fatigue as post-partum recovery before being diagnosed with lymphoma.
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Courtney Allen-Woodger, 30, was diagnosed with primary mediastinal B-Cell lymphoma, a rare and fast-growing non-Hodgkin lymphoma in September 2026.
Just four months prior, Courtney, from Rotherham, had welcomed her first child, Ellora, into her life on May 22.
She put the subsequent drenching night sweats, hot flushes, extreme fatigue, headaches, body aches, and weight changes down to normal post-partum recovery symptoms.
But when she began getting severe itching and chest pain, Courtney booked a GP appointment to get some answers.
Courtney was then sent for a blood test and a scan of her chest on August 18, where a 12cm mass was found.
Within two weeks a biopsy had confirmed the diagnosis and she was started on chemotherapy on September 12.
So far she has had three rounds of treatment - with an estimated six to eight needed - before a decision will made to move her onto radiotherapy if the mass is small enough.
Courtney, a forensic laboratory analyst, said: "Because these perfectly mirror postpartum recovery, I dismissed them as normal 'new mum exhaustion' and didn't get checked.
"I just thought it was normal.
"She's my first child and I didn't know what to expect.
"Of course I'll be tired, have headaches etc.
"It was only in August when the shortness of breath got worse and the chest pain started and the itching was all over my body, I went to the GP."
Prior to the diagnosis, Courtney initially even put the itching down to a weather reaction.
She told Sell Us Your Story: "A few weeks later I started getting itching but because we've had so many heatwaves I assumed it was to do with that."
After going to the GP, Courtney says she feels "lucky" that she got her diagnosis so quickly.
She added: "They were amazing.
"For their peace of mind, they sent me to the hospital, where I had a blood test and they wanted to do a scan of my chest as they were concerned about blood clots.
"They then pulled me into a room and said I had a 12cm mass on my chest.
"They estimated I'd had it for three months- so around when I gave birth - and that it had grown 4cm a month.
"I was confused, I really wasn't expecting it.
"They usually say with lymphoma you have a lump but because it was beneath my chest there was no lump.
"They said it was 99% chance it was lymphoma.
"Thee following morning I had a biopsy, and two weeks later it was confirmed as lymphoma.
"I went to hospital on August 18 and by September 3 I knew what it was.
"I've not got time to dwell on it because it was so quick - I've been really really lucky."
Courtney says the birth of her child has made processing the news easier and helped to keep her "positive."
She said: "If I'm honest, I've been really positive about it all.
"Touch wood the chemo isn't affecting me too badly.
"But she's the main reason I'm being so positive.
"If I didn't have her, I might be a lot more down.
"At the end of the day, it is what it is. I've caught it, and I'm going through it now."
"I've got loads of support."
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