'My sickness wasn't just pregancy - I had to choose and lost everything'

A mum-to-be thought her extreme morning sickness was just pregnancy symptoms before she was diagnosed with blood cancer. Sophia Yasin, 29, was delighted when she fell pregnant in June 2024 after just buying a house with her husband, Lewis Osborne, 29, a fraud agent.

She started suffering with what she thought were "really bad symptoms" and was sick all day and every few hours. She would also get night sweats and itchiness but was reassured that it was "normal" pregnancy symptoms. But when Sophia collapsed at work, just 14 weeks along, in September 2024 she was rushed to hospital.

Initially doctors thought she had suspected pneumonia but scans and a biopsy revealed she had a tumour over her heart and she was diagnosed with pre-mediastinal B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Sophia had to make the difficult decision to terminate her pregnancy before starting an intense chemotherapy treatment and is now in remission.

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Sophia, a tenancy support worker, from Middlesbrough, said: "I was getting sickness all day every few hours. I was getting night sweats, and itchiness through the night. I was very uncomfortable. Everyone told me it was very normal in the first trimester and should ease up.

"I did have some worry but I thought it was normal for my first pregnancy. Because I was pregnant I was prioritised. In a way because I was pregnant they found the cancer in time."

Sophia didn't go to the doctor for her symptoms as she put it all down to her pregnancy. But when she collapsed in September 2024 while at work she was rushed to hospital. Sophia said: "I remember seeing black and I blacked out."

Doctors initially suspected Sophia might have pneumonia and she was kept in for a week. She was given a Macmillan card by a woman while she was on the ward. She said: "I burst out crying. I thought 'what has she given me this for?'"

Sophia was sent for a biopsy and told by doctors that they suspected she had Hodgkin's lymphoma cancer. She said: "I remember saying 'what does this mean for the baby?'. I remember being numb."

Her diagnosis was confirmed on September 12, 2024. Sophia said: "They gave me the time scale of a few hours to decide what to do. The mass was getting big quite quick."

As the mass was over her heart - and nearly at the same size as her organ - doctors had to act quickly. Sophia had to decide if she wanted to continue her pregnancy - but risk her unborn baby developing conditions or losing it. She and her husband made the decision to terminate and at 15 weeks along Sophia was induced and had to give birth to her little girl - who she named Kainaat Pearl.

While she was giving birth she was already started on a drip for her chemotherapy. She said: "She was absolutely beautiful and very tiny."

Sophia had to undergo six rounds of chemotherapy. She said: "I went into fight or flight mode. I was grieving a baby but trying to have treatment. I lost a lot in a short period of time. I went from looking at prams and cots to looking at wigs. I lost my hair, my baby and my old life."

Sophia went into remission in January 2025 and is now commemorating her diagnosis date with a 7km walk with friends and family to raise funds for Lymphoma Action. She said: "Every step will be taking it for the baby and everyone we've lost."

Sophia still hopes to try for another baby but has been advised to wait two years as there is more of a risk of the cancer coming back before then.

Support Sophia here - https://www.gofundme.com/f/sophias-journey-supporting-lymphoma-action