Mother and daughter have the same life-saving tumour removal operation only three weeks apart
A mum and daughter have undergone the same life-saving operation only three weeks apart, after both developing a tumour. They even shared the same surgeon.
Allie Carson-McGeary, 26, a social media manager from Glasgow, says she felt "terrified" when she called her mum Helen Anderson, 53, to tell her she had a four-centimetre lump on her thyroid and was waiting for a biopsy.
During the call, Anderson, a primary school teacher, revealed that she too was on the waiting list, after finding a similar lump.
The two had their biopsies a day apart, but only Carson-McGeary's came back as cancerous.
She was diagnosed with stage one thyroid cancer, but given a 97% chance of survival.
While her mum's lump was inconclusive, both of the women had surgery to remove their tumours.
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Carson-McGeary was operated on by Mr Omar Hilmi, at Ross Hall Hospital, Glasgow, on 13 April 2022 and three weeks later, on 9 May 2022, her mother had the same procedure, performed by the same surgeon.
Having undergone radioactive iodine treatment after her surgery to treat her cancer, Carson-McGeary is now cancer-free.
"I found a lump on my neck on World Cancer Day," Carson-McGeary explains.
"I didn't think much of it, but I'd recently watched a YouTube video where Demi Jones from Love Island was speaking about her experience with thyroid cancer, so I thought I'd better get it checked.
"I told my mum that I was waiting for a biopsy, and she told me not to worry because she was waiting for one too and that it was probably nothing.
"Mum's biopsy came back as inconclusive, but I never thought mine would actually be cancer.
"In a way, it was comforting having my mum go through the same thing, I felt less alone."
After having coronavirus in April 2020, Carson-McGeary says she felt she "never really recovered".
She struggled with extreme exhaustion and pain for two years, but assumed it was long covid.
However, in February 2022 she spoke to her doctor about a lump on her neck and was put on the waiting list for a biopsy.
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After leaving the appointment, she called her mum who revealed that she too was waiting for a biopsy on a lump she had found on her neck.
Anderson had her biopsy on 8 March 2022, and Carson-McGeary had hers the following day.
The procedure was "incredibly traumatic" and involved being injected with a fine needle to extract fluid from the mass – all while being kept awake.
Carson-McGeary claims she knew almost immediately that her lump was cancerous, and two weeks later, her fears were confirmed.
"I knew from the looks on the doctors' faces that it was bad news," she says.
"The vibe in the room was just tense.
"They could tell right away it was cancer, but we had to wait around two weeks after the biopsy to get the official diagnosis."
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Carson-McGeary was diagnosed with stage one thyroid cancer, but felt "optimistic" after doctors reassured her that she had a 97% chance of survival.
She was booked to have the tumour removed on 13 April 2022.
Meanwhile, her mum's results were inconclusive, and she was also booked to have her lump removed three weeks later by the same surgeon.
Surgeon Mr Omar Hilmi says it is important to get any lump in the neck checked.
"Thyroid conditions can be common in families and I was pleased to assist these women through the process of gaining a diagnosis and then treating the problem," he says.
Speaking about her health journey, Carson-McGeary says: "It was really scary to be told I had cancer at just 25.
"But we caught it early and I was really lucky.
"The surgery was scary, but it was really comforting to go through it with my mum."
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Now that she has been given the all-clear for cancer, Carson-McGeary says she is hoping to move on with her life.
"It was a really tough year but I'm out the other side now," she explains.
"It's also very unlikely that the cancer will come back, so now I just want to get on with things.
"I got married this year, and I'm excited to put my cancer behind me and move on."
Mum Anderson adds: "It was pretty awful to go through everything with my daughter.
"As a mum you put your family first, and I was much more worried about Allie's lump than my own.
"She was so brave about it, and so analytical. She just wanted to get through it, which helped me.
"She had her surgery before me so I had a rough idea of what I'd go through.
"We supported each other through it.
"I'm so proud of Allie, she's such an inspiration to other young people by speaking out about getting checked," she adds.
Additional reporting SWNS.
