Facebook boss Nicola Mendelsohn, 47, reveals her tumours are shrinking – as she tweets a candid snap ahead of a fourth round of chemo following her diagnosis with blood cancer
- Nicola Mendelsohn, 47, revealed follicular lymphoma diagnosis in February
- She found tiny lump in her groin, with CT scan showing tumours across her body
- Mother-of-four has called for more investment into research into lymphoma
- She shared a candid snap from cancer ward ahead of fourth cycle of chemo
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Nicola Mendelsohn has revealed her tumours are ‘shrinking’ as she prepares to undergo a fourth round of chemotherapy following her diagnosis with incurable blood cancer.
The head of Facebook in Europe, 47, who is a mother-of-four, revealed in in February that she had been given the devastating diagnosis the previous November, and described delivering the news to her children as the ‘worst moment of my life’.
On Monday Mrs Mendelsohn tweeted a smiling snap of herself in what appeared to be a cancer ward, ready to start a fourth cycle of chemo and immunotherapy.
She posted: ‘My scan last week showed that my tumours are shrinking, the Dr’s are pleased with my progress. So now I’m back in my chair getting my treatment.’
When she made her diagnosis public earlier in the year Nicola called it a ‘slow growing’ cancer that was ‘currently incurable’.
Nicola Mendelsohn, the 47-year-old head of Facebook in Europe, revealed in February that she had been diagnosed with incurable blood cancer. On Monday she tweeted a snap of herself about to undergo a fourth round of chemotherapy, and told her followers that her tumours are ‘shrinking’ and doctors are pleased with her progress
Ms Mendelsohn, seen addressing delegates at the annual conference of British Industry in 2016, tweeted a picture of herself on what appeared to be a cancer ward on Monday to mark World Lymphoma Awareness Day
Nicola – whose husband Lord Mendelsohn was sacked by Jeremy Corbyn for attending the notorious Presidents Club gala dinner in January (he made clear at the time that he, ‘did not witness any of the appalling incidents described…’) – has been calling for more investment in research into lymphoma.
Writing in the Sunday Times Magazine, Nicola explained how she was diagnosed in November 2016 after discovering a small lump in her groin, measuring less than half a centimetre, before a CT scan showed she had tumours all over her body.
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The vice president of Facebook in Europe, the Middle East and Africa – described how she and her husband, Jon, had to sit down their children, aged between 13 and 20, to tell them the devastating news.
She wrote at the time: ‘Zac is our youngest and his first question was: “Are you going to die?” That’s always the thought that comes into your head when you hear the word “cancer”.
Nicola Mendelsohn pictured with her four children (Zac, front left, Sam, back left, Gabi, centre, and Danny, far right) and husband Lord Mendelsohn
Nicola (pictured with husband Lord Mendelsohn) has described having to tell her children about the cancer diagnosis as ‘the hardest moment of her life’
‘It is not a conversation I could ever have imagined having with them, not even in my worst nightmares, until it hit me in the face. It was the hardest moment of my life.’
Nicola wrote that her type of cancer is ‘slow growing’, that it is ‘currently incurable’, and how 60 per cent of those living with lymphomas live more than 10 years.
She said that, at 46 at the time, the prognosis did not ‘feel acceptable’. ‘I’m not satisfied with that,’ she wrote.
Nicola said she intended to monitor her cancer through the ‘watch and wait’ approach, and would undergo a combination of chemo and immunotherapy should her symptoms worsen.
She confirmed in her tweet on Monday that she has already had three rounds of treatment since the article was published.
Nicola previously revealed how she has given up processed sugar from her diet, and started exercising twice a week in the wake of her diagnosis, admitted she ironically felt ‘much healthier’.
Nicola, pictured after being awarded a CBE in 2015, has called for more investment in research into lymphoma
What is follicular lymphoma?
Follicular lymphoma is a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and develops when the body makes abnormal white blood cells.
The most common symptom of the blood cancer is swelling in the neck, armpit or groin.
Other symptoms include tiredness, weight loss, night sweats and fevers.
The cancer is slow-growing and does not always require immediate treatment.
Any treatment usually involves a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Source: Macmillan Cancer Support
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