Valcēni resident on blood cancer diagnosis: treatment, remission and a new view of work

Ināra Lazdiņa, a 68-year-old accountant and finance specialist from Valcēni in northern Latvia, has told the regional outlet Ziemeļlatvija about her fight with blood cancer. The illness was found about two and a half years ago and was diagnosed as stage three. After treatment, doctors have recorded complete remission, meaning the cancer has been halted. She speaks openly about her experience in the hope of helping others keep hope and see a doctor early.

A diagnosis that took months

It began after a spa trip to Pärnu, when Ināra noticed a small lump on the right side of her neck. It was painless but did not go away. Tests ordered by her family doctor and by an oncologist at the Smiltene Red Cross Hospital showed nothing suspicious. The wait to see a haematologist, a doctor specialising in diseases of the blood and blood-forming system, stretched from May to September. Meanwhile she and her husband visited doctors in Riga, and a CT scan was done. A biopsy was carried out in November, and the diagnosis was announced the next day. She says she had no typical symptoms and kept working throughout.

Treatment

Chemotherapy began in February. After the first course she fell seriously ill with an infection and was taken to Valmiera hospital. After she was discharged, her hair began to fall out, which she found harder than the diagnosis itself. In all she has gone through 36 chemotherapy courses, and she says staying active helped her cope with them.

Life after illness

Ingāra now devotes less time to work, though she still heads the cooperative credit union “Ziemeļvidzeme”. She limits sweets and salt, pays closer attention to what she eats, tends a flower garden and chops firewood. She mentions frequently aching legs as a side effect and says she can no longer do physical work for long.