Raising Awareness of Blood Cancer Thanks to Griffblog
Today I have a guest post from, Sam the blogger behind Griffblog, a UK-based travel, fashion and lifestyle blog. Blood Cancer is something very close to her heart as you will find out in the below post and I think she is so brave for writing about and sharing her story with us all.
Did you know over 84% of British adults cannot confidently identify common symptoms of blood cancer*? Up until 6 months ago, I was one of those people.
There are three main types of blood cancer; Leukaemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma.
In February 2019 I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which affects almost 2,000 people in the UK every year. I’m hoping that by sharing my experience I can help to raise awareness of blood cancer, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and some of the charities and organisations who help those affected.
*Source: Bloodwise UK
What are the main symptoms of blood cancer?
When I first started experiencing symptoms late in 2018, I found it easy to dismiss them as “nothing serious”. I was 27 years old and had never had any problems with my health.
Even after I went to my GP and was referred to a haematology specialist, I never seriously thought I could have cancer.
I’m so thankful that my GP took my symptoms seriously. Although Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is considered rare, it is more common in young adults and people over 70. I was diagnosed relatively early and was able to start treatment straight away.
Blood cancer symptoms vary from person-to-person. You can see a full list on the Bloodwise website, but these are some of the symptoms I personally experienced;
- Extreme tiredness/fatigue
- Persistent infections
- Breathlessness
- Itchy skin
- Lumps/swellings in the lymph nodes in my neck, chest and armpit
You can read more details on how I was diagnosed in my blog post here.
How is it treated?
There are various ways in which blood cancer can be treated, including;
- Chemotherapy
- Radiotherapy
- Biological therapies / immunotherapies / monoclonal antibodies
- Stem cell transplant
When I received my diagnosis I was told I would need 6 rounds of chemotherapy over 6 months, and this would give me over a 90% chance of going into full remission.
In the UK the first type of chemotherapy they use to try and treat Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is called AVBD (each initial basically stands for a different type of chemo drug). I had two rounds of AVBD, followed by a PET scan to check if it was working. Unfortunately, it wasn’t working as well as they would have liked, so for the remainder of my treatment, my consultant switched me to a different type of chemo (BEACOPP) which is much stronger.
What is a stem cell transplant?
A stem cell transplant involves replacing unhealthy blood cells in the body with healthy cells from the blood or bone marrow of a donor. Thousands of people worldwide require stem cell transplants every year. It’s usually considered as a treatment for blood cancer when other treatment options have been unsuccessful.
If you are aged 16-30 and in good health, you can register to become a stem cell donor via the Anthony Nolan charity (anthonynolan.org). If you are aged 17-55, you can check your eligibility to become a donor and register via DKMS.
Thank you for reading. If you have any further questions please feel free to get in touch with me on Twitter @samgriffblog or Instagram @samgriffyyy
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I didn’t have much knowledge about blood cancer before reading this. It’s important to recognize the signs and symptoms.
Its always best to know the symptoms of things and would like to thank you so much for sharing
My great Auntie had a blood cancer & her body couldn’t cope, it was the first time I had to personally deal with cancer & it is awful. Thank you for bringing awareness you are very brave.
Thank you and Griffblog for raising awareness on this horrible illness
I didn’t know the symptoms of blood cancer so thanks for that.
To be honest I’m not very aware of this type of cancer but reading this post has given me some insight thanks
This is really helpful and important to raise awareness for this type of cancer. I know someone who’s undergoing stem cell transplant. Let’s keep pushing and move forward with raising awareness for this cause.
This is a very helpful post cancer is a horrid disease . I wouldn’t have known what the symptoms were. Lost a friend last year from throat cancer and my father in law from lung cancer but all cancers are horrid ?
Thank you for raising awareness of this type of cancer. My friends sister suffered terribly and it was awful xxx
It must be devastating to have blood cancer. The mental state you have and the treatment is dreadful. I salute all thise who keeps on fighting.
Oh this is scary! I’m happy to hear that Sam was diagnosed early. Even as someone who works in healthcare, it’s sometimes easy to dismiss blood cancer symptoms because of how non-specific the symptoms can be. Hoping she goes into remission. A reminder to take our health seriously no matter how young we are. Thanks for sharing your story, Sam!
I am definitely not familiar with blood cancer or its symptoms. It is good to be aware of our bodies and our symptoms. Are you still going through chemo now?
I’m glad you did a post on this. It’s nice to be able to learn more about it. I honestly didn’t know a whole lot about blood cancer. I’m glad to have read more on this now.
Been spreading awareness for the past 8 years
Too late for my beautiful sister taken so young – if the message helps just one person I’ll be happy
The symptoms were there but unrecognised
I don’t know a lot about blood cancer to be honest. I am thankful to have read this to learn some more and be able to share this post to bring more awareness to my friends and family as well. I thank you for spreading awareness so we can educate our world about this!
Thank you for sharing your experience. My mom was just diagnosed with lung cancer and we are going through the surgeries and chemo. None of us in our family have experienced cancer in our family and wasn’t ready for the diagnoses. I will keep you in my daily prayers for a full recovery.
I didn’t even know some a lot about blood cancer and I am grateful to be aware of this. It’s good to know what symptoms to look out for.
My dad was recently diagnosed with cancer, and it was interesting to hear about the options out there. There are a couple of non-invasive ones, and yet people always go with chemo as the first answer.
I’m glad you’re raising awareness and breaking down the different therapy options available.
It must’ve been really nerve wracking to go through that but it sounds like you’ve been really brave! I must admit I didn’t know a great deal about blood cancer until I read this.
This is such a very interesting and informative post I’ve read today. I only have less knowledge about it but because of this article I have now a broad knowledge and awareness about blood cancer. Thank you!
Yes raising awareness of blood cancer is always good thing. Cancer is deadly disease finding cure for all is good thing.
Yes it is fortunate your GP took your complaints seriously. It stinks to have a doctor that doesn’t take you seriously. I hope they find a cure for all cancers one day soon.
Thank you for sharing this! I didn’t realize most of this about blood cancer.
I didn’t know a lot about this type of cancer but it’s important to know the signs & symptoms to watch for. Thanks for spreading awareness of this issue.
Cancer is an awful disease and wish that people did not have to go through it. I’ve never heard of blood cancer or had anyone close to me have it. With awareness, research, and improvements in medical technology, people such as yourself are lucky to have treatment options available to give you a second chance at life. I hope your treatment works out.
I have chronic health problems and it isn’t easy to deal with on a long-term basis, so I’m crossing my fingers you go into remission for a long time.
Blood cancer is not something that you hear about regularly, which considering it still affects a large number of people is quite sad. More awareness needs to be given to this.
It is so important to raise awareness of this – I didn’t know about the symptoms.
I think it’s important to talk about this. I don’t know a lot about blood cancer, so I’m glad I read the post. I’ll check out the website as well.
This is really helpful. I wouldn’t have known what kinds of symptoms to watch for. I definitely want everyone to get the transplants they need!