Features

Making a bit of noise for Lymphoma awareness

By Lucie Boase
Published: 02/12/2009

It’s a playground mainstay, beloved of small boys intent on impressing their friends.

But pitfarting – making an amusing noise by cupping your hand over your armpit – could now land you with more than just your classmate’s enduring respect.

A weekend for two in Paris is up for grabs for the most viewed video of a pitfart uploaded to the Lymphoma Association’s

The initiative aims to raise awareness in young people about Lymphoma, a form of cancer which starts in the lymphatic system.

There are currently 60,000 people in the UK living with Lymphoma. Although it’s the most common type of cancer affecting our age group, surprisingly few people have heard of Lymphoma, and many only do when they’re directly affected by it.

The link between pitfarts and lymphoma is far from tenuous – ‘PITS’ is an acronym for the signs and symptoms of the disease: Persistent Lumps, Itching, Tiredness and Sweating.

“I thought I was a hypochondriac, to be honest – I was always getting something”, says Rachael Hurst, a second year Politics student at the University of Sheffield, who was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 2007.

Despite having suffered the classic symptoms of Lymphoma for over a year, Rachael had dismissed them as signs of stress over her A-Levels.

It wasn’t until she was in Australia on her gap year that she found out what was wrong.

Unfortunately, Rachel’s story is all too familiar amongst Lymphoma sufferers.

“The problem with Lymphoma is that the symptoms are very similar to your typical student lifestyle - coughs and colds, tiredness, feeling run down,” she said.

So how do you know it’s not just a nasty bout of Freshers’ Flu?

“The main difference is that you get enlarged lymph nodes, which are present either in your neck, under your armpits or in your groin.”

Rachael’s late diagnosis resulted in having to face advanced stage cancer, and undergoing 12 sessions of chemotherapy.

“I lost my hair after the first one. It wasn’t a big thing – I loved it. One of the symptoms of my illness was that my hair went lank and greasy, so I was glad to get rid of it. It was liberating.”

The journey isn’t over yet. Rachel still has to undergo regular checkups and scans, and is on a cocktail of drugs to counter the side-effects of treatment.

“It’s very much a watch-and-wait game. With Lymphoma, there’s quite a high risk that it can come back, so there are a lot of hospital visits.

“I’m on treatment with different consultants for different things caused by the chemotherapy, including problems with my bowels and my circulation. In the long term, I should be fine. There are no cancerous cells left in my body – I’ve had scans to prove that.

Rachel’s been in remission now for a year and a half.
“I’m still under close observation from my doctor all of the time, but I’m fine – just a bit paranoid.”

Naturally, Rachel has asked herself ‘why me?’

“You do sit and wonder ‘What’ve I done? What’ve I been around? What’ve I eaten?’. You come to every conclusion”.

Rachel’s own theory is that her illness was kick-started by working for seven years in a dry-cleaners, surrounded by chemicals.

“But I can’t prove this – it’s just one of those things with no known cause. It’s not genetic.”

Apparently though, Lymphoma is more common in males, and also having a weakened immune system can increase the chances of developing the illness.

Listening to Rachel talk frankly about her illness, I was bowled over by her courage. She is remarkably upbeat and maintains a sunny disposition on life.

“I just pretend there’s nothing wrong with me. You can’t sit at home and think ‘oh no, something might happen to me’. You have to get on with life as normal.”

Most importantly, Rachel says, is staying aware, because ignoring symptoms can heighten the severity of any medical condition.

“If I don’t feel right, I go straight to a GP. With my friends, as well, I’ll always say, ‘get it checked, don’t leave it’.”

Now an ardent campaigner for Lymphoma awareness, Rachael has spearheaded the Lymphoma Association’s competition at the University.

She has also managed to raise an impressive £25,000 for Leukaemia research, in just four months.

“I organised corporate dinners, got businesses to give me money, ran auctions, gave speeches, organised challenges – from marathons, walks in the Welsh peaks, to speed dating.

“A lot of people are very generous, especially if it’s something they’re not that aware of.

“Although breast cancer and testicular cancer are of course very important, most people already know about them and are aware of what to look out for.

“Lymphoma hasn’t been given the same recognition, so it’s my aim to make sure students know about it.”

The Pitfart competition is definitely an innovative way of grabbing young people’s attention.

Rate this article