Dominique Moore: fought Hodgkin's lymphoma British actress Dominique Moore describes her battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Last summer, I was filming scenes for the children's TV series Hotel Trubble, whilst battling an incessant, burning itching all over my head and body.
When it first started a year earlier, I thought the itching was eczema - I'd had it before - but it wouldn't go away, it only got worse.
Unknown to me and my colleagues, I had Hodgkin's lymphoma - but it would be months before I was diagnosed.
At work filming, the itching was a real problem.
I would scratch my head so much that my wig would fall off and the sound of the scratching would be picked up by the microphones.
On one occasion, it got so bad that I burst into tears on set, but the cameras were still rolling. I cried silently until the director said "cut" - then I ran off set, the pain was unbearable.
Dominique Moore“After consultations with four separate doctors and numerous tests, I still was not getting an answer.”
The weird thing was, I had no visible scarring on my skin - so it was hard for my friends and colleagues to understand the pain I felt.
It felt like burning, like my skin was breaking all over my body. Friends staying over at my house told me I used to scratch so loudly at night, the sound would keep them awake.
But no-one could figure out what was wrong. After consultations with four separate doctors and numerous tests, I still was not getting an answer.
When a food allergy was suggested, the cooks at work started making separate meals for me.
The film set was hot - maybe it was some kind of heat rash? Or perhaps it was a reaction to the materials used in the wigs and costumes, or even the detergents used to clean them?
Then I saw a fifth doctor, who booked me in to see a dermatologist at the hospital. At the same time I noticed a lump on my neck and told them about it. I was referred to a haemotologist and next to a surgeon.
The surgeon said the lump would have to be removed straight away. That was a big change for me: I had quickly gone from trying to get rid of eczema to needing my first ever operation.
Two weeks later they told me I had Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.
I wasn't prepared for that: I was 24 years old and didn't think cancer was something you get so young.
But I didn't think I'd die. I thought: "So what happens next?"
My family kept me strong through the months of treatment that followed.
I also had a "buddy" throughout my time in hospital - a woman who had gone through the same condition.
This was a huge comfort, someone who understood exactly what I was going through.
After months of chemotherapy, the itching eventually stopped. I was also amazed that my hair was still my own - I thought I would lose it all and had planned to do some crazy designs with my head - but I got lucky.
Early this year I had a PET scan which found that I no longer had the cancer cells in my body.
I couldn't believe it. I kept on asking the doctor over and over again. I still need to keep going back for check-ups, but I feel like I've been given a new life.
Dominique Moore was speaking to CBBC's Newsround.
Dominique presents Living with Cancer - a Newsround special, at 4.55pm, BBC One, on Tuesday 29 March 2011.
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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/news/health-12885846
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