‘I thought my son had whooping cough but it turned out to be cancer’ | UK | News

A mother has told how she thought her teenage son had whooping cough but was shocked when he was diagnosed with cancer.

Caroline Chung’s son, Liam Jones, 14, has stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a rare cancer that develops in the lymphatic system.

He initially started to show symptoms including a dry cough and fatigue, but Caroline, 39, simply thought he had a ‘100-day cough’, also known as whooping cough.

Now, after her diagnosis, Caroline urges parents not to listen to what others think and to trust their instincts about their children’s health.

She said: “He used to go out with his friends all the time, he would also take naps. But I thought he had had a hard day at school and I didn’t think much of it.”

“But now I know there were signs and people were telling me it was just going to be a 100-day cough. You never think it’s going to be this bad.

“Don’t ignore a cough. I let people convince me it was the 100-day cough, even though I had a gut feeling. I guess it was denial, I didn’t want to think the worst.”

Caroline realised something was wrong with Liam when he started coughing and was paler and thinner than usual. She initially thought it was a ‘100-day cough’, but the schoolboy then discovered a lump on his collarbone that hadn’t been there before.

The mother-of-two contacted doctors and he had to have an ultrasound scan and an X-ray. Caroline then received a call at 3am from Alder Hay Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, and they were transferred there by ambulance.

Earlier this month Liam was told he has stage two Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but Caroline is relieved it is treatable. She said: “The doctors said it was stage two, so it was treatable, and that was a relief.”

“Hearing those words that the disease was curable and not terminal was music to my ears. I knew it would be a long road and it wouldn’t be pleasant, but I knew he would survive. It was the best thing I could have heard.”

Liam is currently undergoing chemotherapy and may need radiotherapy, depending on how his body responds. Caroline, from Cheshire, says the teenager has “barely complained” about everything he has been through and has just “accepted that this is his story”.

She said: “He’s so brave. When he had to go to Alder Hay we shed a few tears between us, but since then he hasn’t cried and he’s barely complained. He’s accepted that this is his story.”

“He was poked and prodded by surgeons and nurses and had heart scans, CT scans, biopsies and PET scans – literally everything. Liam was amazing throughout the whole process.”

Caroline is a single mother to Liam and his sister Olivia, eight, and owns a hair and beauty salon. When Liam was diagnosed, Caroline realised she would have to stop working, so a Go Fund Me page has been set up to support the family.

They also went to live with Caroline’s best friend, footballer and singer Chelcee Grimes, as she lives closer to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

Caroline said: “I am self-employed and a full-time mother. If I don’t work, I don’t earn anything.”

“It was a little scary for me because I was wondering how I was going to pay my bills. It was really scary.”

“My friend started a GoFundMe page, which has been just amazing – the love and support from everyone has been overwhelming.”

“It brought me peace because I know I can use it to pay some bills.”

“I have to use physical contact to work, so when his immune system starts to deteriorate, I won’t be able to touch customers and then go home. You never think that’s going to happen to you and you don’t prepare for it.”

You can donate to the fundraising page here.