A St Albans resident diagnosed with leukaemia is urging others to get tested as soon as possible.
Leading UK leukaemia charities launched a new campaign to raise awareness about the symptoms for Blood Cancer Awareness Month in September.
Leukaemia is a form of blood cancer affects people of all ages, with more than 10,000 receiving a diagnosis in the UK every year. Overall survival for leukaemia stands at just over 50 per cent – making it one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
Early diagnosis could save lives, yet the recent public survey by leukaemia charities Leukaemia UK and Leukaemia Care, found that 49 per cent of respondents from the Southeast could not recognise the four most widely reported symptoms (fatigue, bruising, unusual bleeding and repeated infections) of the disease which kills 5,000 people a year in the UK.
Melanie Joy Hanni, from St Albans, was just 31 when she was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia, a blood cancer that commonly affects those aged 60 and above.
Melanie, now 36, said: “It took a year for me to recognise I had the symptoms of leukaemia, but had I known about Spot Leukaemia I might have gone to the doctors quicker.
“Thankfully I was still diagnosed in the chronic phase, but I took my sweet, sweet time to go and get the blood tests the doctor asked for.
“If I had known the fatigue, repeat infections, rash, easy bruising, weight loss and so on were symptoms of a potential cancer I’d have been a lot quicker about going to the doctor.
“I hope nobody needs this information, but they should have it in case they or a loved one starts presenting symptoms.”
If you have any of the symptoms mentioned in the article, contact your GP and ask for a blood test.
To find out more visit https://www.leukaemiacare.org.uk/our-campaigns/spotleukaemia/
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