'Although I had been feeling fine, no different from normal, I was worried about this lump in my neck that I had for several months. I first thought it was just because I had some sort of infection, but it didn't go away. When I went to see my family doctor, he said that it was a swollen lymph node and that he was not sure why it hadn't gone down. He referred me to a specialist ear, nose and throat surgeon at my local hospital.

'The surgeon took a biopsy of the lump, taking a few cells out with a needle to be looked at under the microscope. When the results came back a few weeks later, he told me that they showed I had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and I would need to see a haematologist for further tests. I had never heard of the disease before, and he explained that it was a form of cancer of the immune system. Although I was quite scared, the surgeon reassured me that, as I had not had any symptoms yet, apart from the lump in my neck, I was not in any immediate danger, and I should wait to see what the haematologist said.

'After a couple of weeks, I got an appointment to see a haematologist at a specialist hospital a few miles away. When I went there, I was very nervous, but the doctor talked to me about how I was feeling and asked about the swollen lymph node in my neck. He told me that I would need to have a series of tests to confirm that I had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, see how active it was and how far it was spread in my body. I had a CT scan of my body, a biopsy of my bone marrow, which was a bit uncomfortable, and an LDH blood test.

'When I went back a couple of weeks later, he said that the results showed I had stage I indolent follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which is a slow-growing form of the disease. He said that the good news was that only one lymph node was affected and that I had no B symptoms. So, he suggested that I have radiotherapy on the swollen lymph node in my neck to make it go away. Because I had heard so many stories about how radiotherapy can make you sick and your hair fall out, I was quite worried about what would happen. However, the doctor told me that, because I was only having radiotherapy in my neck, I shouldn't feel sick, although I might lose some hair around where they gave me the treatment.

'In the end, I didn't have any real side effects, apart from feeling a bit tired, and the lump in my neck went away completely. After a check-up a couple of weeks later, the haematologist told me that I should come back every 6 months for another CT scan to make sure that the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma hadn't come back.

'The scans showed that nothing had changed, but, in 1994, when I was between my CT appointments, I found another lump in my neck, so I called up the specialist hospital and they told me to come back early for my next scan. At the same time, they did the bone marrow test and the LDH blood test again. When I went back to see the haematologist, he told me that they had found swollen lymph nodes in my chest and my armpit, as well as my neck, which really worried me, although he said the disease had not spread to my bone marrow.

'We talked about what treatment I should have, and the doctor said that, as I had radiotherapy on my neck before, and now other lymph nodes were involved, I couldn't have the same treatment again. However, he offered me chemotherapy instead, and I was given the treatment over the next six months. The chemo made me feel a bit sick, but I was lucky and didn't really have any other side effects. Halfway through the treatment, after about three months, I had another CT scan, which showed the chemo had been partially successful and, as I still felt fine, the doctor said I could carry on as normal.

'The chemo worked for about two years, but then I started to notice I was losing weight because my appetite was going and one of my routine CT scans showed that the lymph nodes that were swollen before had started to grow again. The haematologist suggested a different type of chemotherapy to try to stop the nodes growing. Although the nodes didn't shrink, they stopped growing, and I started to get my appetite back."

'The doctor said that he might give me more chemotherapy the year after to try to control the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, so as I was still feeling well, my husband and I decided to go on holiday to America for a few weeks, as I had always wanted to go there.

'A few months after I came back, in 1997, I went back to the specialist hospital, and they decided to give me a combination of chemotherapy drugs. This time, I felt tingling in my hands and feet, but I didn't have any other side effects. This worked for a while, but in 1999 I had a relapse. A CT scan at the time showed that I now had swollen lymph nodes in my abdomen, as well as my neck, chest and armpit. I also had raised LDH levels, although my bone marrow did not have any disease. The doctors said I had stage III disease.

'Although I was very scared about what would happen, the doctors told me that they could try a monoclonal antibody therapy that attacks cells with a specific protein on their surface. I was quite relieved, and I was given monoclonal antibody therapy over the course of a month. So that the monoclonal antibody would have time to work, I waited to have a follow-up CT scan until three months later, which showed that I had a very good partial remission.

'I felt really well, and lived life pretty much as normal, having a CT scan every six months to make sure the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma wasn't coming back. In 2002, one of my routine scans showed that I had a slight relapse, although I didn't feel any different. To make sure that the lymphoma was under control, I had another course of monoclonal antibody therapy, which was successful, and I am now feeling well and hoping that my remission lasts.'