Devastated bride, 27, defeats cancer before wedding, only for it to return after honeymoon
Sophie still has a long way to go in her recovery and is waiting for doctors to tell her the next steps
A devastated woman has shared her heartbreak after overcoming cancer, only to receive another diagnosis. Sophie Lambert, 27, was cancer-free before her wedding, but fell ill with a different type of the disease just weeks after marrying the love of her life.
Sophie was overjoyed when doctors gave her the all-clear for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2020. But three years later - just weeks after getting home from her honeymoon with husband Zac - doctors dropped the bombshell news that she had cancer again, this time, in her neck.
“The only sign was a lump in my neck – any other symptoms I put down to the long-term effects of cancer treatment,” Sophie, an administrator from Essex, told NeedToKnow. “When doctors told me it was thyroid cancer, I felt completely numb.
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“I was beginning to navigate life after cancer and was really looking forward to celebrating us. Now, any future we had planned was on hold. I was angry and wanted to run away and shut down."
Sophie was worried that she "wouldn't be able to do it all again" as she faced treatment for a second time. She had previously had brutal chemotherapy to shrink a massive grapefruit-sized tumour in her chest that was engulfing her heart in 2020.
To treat her thyroid cancer, Sophie had a full thyroidectomy and central and right-side neck dissection in February, which revealed three areas of cancer, the largest being three centimetres. This was then followed by a dose of radioactive iodine treatment.
She said: "Going through any type of medical procedure and treatment is scary – it’s the unknown of not knowing how your body will react to it, but ultimately needing it to save your life. It’s a horrible prospect.
"I was already under six different medical teams when I was diagnosed the second time as there are so many long-term effects from cancer. Now, every day feels difficult."
Sophie said she feels "incapable" of daily things that her mind and body "won't allow [her] to do". She said: "Working full-time is impossible due to extreme fatigue. I’m unable to carry out household chores without getting tired and feel like I have to save energy to be able to get through the busier days.
"My first diagnosis was a massive shock for Zac. It was so soon into our relationship – just nine months - but he became everything I needed in a partner.
"For the thyroid diagnosis, he was less shocked but more concerned for me as he knew how much mentally and physically I had already gone through and what this setback would mean for us both. He has always been a glass-half-full kind of person and constantly tries to keep positive and surrounds me with happiness and love."
With Sophie's health, the newlyweds are now relying on IVF if they ever want to start a family. She said: "We don’t know if my body would even be able to cope with having to support a little one. It’s a lot to think about and it’s frustrating that we even have to think about our future so young due to early menopause because of chemotherapy.”
Sophie still has a long way to go in her recovery and is waiting for doctors to tell her the next steps. Despite everything she is going through, she is determined to keep moving forward.
She shares her experience of living with a life-changing illness on her Instagram account (@soph_thfc) to raise awareness and give people hope. She added: "It's so hard when you’re a young adult and life is still happening around you. You grieve a life you no longer have.
"I am most proud that no matter how hard every day is, I still get up and out of bed and try my hardest to be present. I'm proud of how resilient I've become and how I didn't know my own strength until the only thing I could be was strong. I hope that by sharing my story it will help others who potentially could be going through the same."
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