Smoldering multiple myeloma: What it is, symptoms, and more

bone cancer pain relief at home :: Article Creator

Mum Told To Go Home And Take Paracetamol For Misdiagnosed 'bug' That Turned Out To Be Cancer

Bex Despard began feeling sick on October 2017, and thought she had some kind of illness - but her 'world imploded' when she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia

Bex Despard, 56, battled years of treatment following a leukaemia diagnosis(Supplied)

A mother has talked about the distressing experience of feeling so tired she "wanted to die" and could not climb the stairs to her flat after falling ill.

Bex Despard from Southport began feeling sick on October 2017, and thought she had some kind of illness. Doctors advised her to stay at home and take paracetamol, but her "world imploded" when she went on to be diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), Lancashire Live reports. She underwent two challenging rounds of chemotherapy which meant she was underweight, incredibly fatigued and could not eat.

The second round of chemotherapy prompted a life-threatening spell of sepsis, which led to a seven-week stay at the Royal Liverpool Hospital over Christmas, where she had heart palpitations and was in shock. Five years later, the mum-of-two experienced a brain haemorrhage and then 15 bone marrow biopsies. When remembering the first symptoms she experienced, Bex said: "I had started with cold symptoms, I thought I had a bug.

"I went to the doctors and they said go home and take paracetamol and that it's probably viral. Five days later I felt no better so I went again for the second time and they said it was viral but this time prescribed me an antibiotic. It wasn't just tired I felt, I was fatigued. I went to work and said I felt like someone had knocked the stuffing out of me. Two days later - on the Thursday - I was off work and my finance, Dave, said 'I'm not happy we're going back to the doctors."

"I fell asleep in the doctor's room and I'm not a sick person. It was a circus really. No one knew what was going on. They were taking bloods asking if I had been in contact with wild animals, if I had been to Africa, then they said it might be hepatitis." Then Bex was told she would need to be in hospital, and a doctor revealed there was a 95 per cent probability that she had leukaemia. Bex said: "I was so shocked; all I could say was 'pardon'? He said it again and asked if I had any questions.

"I was so upset, I couldn't speak. My world imploded. I was told in hospital and had nobody around me, no family present nothing. I thought they were talking about someone else, my world imploded. I straight away sent a text to my then fiancé at the time and asked him to come back to the hospital because up to that point we had no idea what it was. They had thought I had hepatitis and then this got dropped onto me and I went into a state of disbelief, and from then it was a car crash.

Celeb-loved 'magic' treatment that saves 'bleach-damaged hair' has price slashed

Bex and her husband Dave on their wedding day after it got postponed due to treatment(Supplied)

Bex with her two children(Supplied)

"I remember being rushed to Liverpool hospital and still being in disbelief - I still thought someone was going to come up to me and say it wasn't right. All I could think about was my poor children, they have gone from sitting on the stairs saying mum will be home, to coming to the hospital. I remember asking if I was going to lose my hair and the doctor looked at me and said we are going to fight this."

After finding out she had leukaemia Bex fought through two rounds of chemotherapy and fifteen bone marrow biopsies. She was on a drug trial and began her first round of FLAG-Ida, which according to her oncologist was a chemotherapy referred to as 'The Bomb'. Her first round progressed well even though she could not eat and was losing her hair. But the second round of chemotherapy made her "want to die" because of the horrific pain she experienced.

She was sick, her weight plummeted and she experienced heart palpitations and extreme fatigue. However her last bone marrow biopsy was described as "barbaric" by her son and seen to be the most traumatic. Bex said: "My son had come with me to my last bone marrow - just out of curiosity - and he said to me 'mum that's barbaric'. The pain I experienced in that last bone marrow was off the scale and it caused me to have a brain haemorrhage. I was losing consciousness and the pain was off the scale. I spent eight days in the hospital after it and thankfully my body recovered. People always say to me 'OMG you survived'.

"It was horrendous, but the care I got was phenomenal. I was sent home from the hospital with sepsis and that's what nearly killed me. The hospital held their hands up and apologised for their mistake and now they have special nurses that check people for infection before sending them home. I actually wanted to die at that point I could not take the pain. The only thing that spurred me on was the thought of my children and Dave, you just look for that core strength. If Dave hadn't taken me to the hospital I wouldn't be here today.

"They [the doctors] said they didn't know how I didn't have a heart attack. It's been a journey." Remission for Bex was finally confirmed in April 2018. She said: "Life now is good. Home life is so much better for my children too - what they must have gone through the trauma they experienced, I can't imagine. They are strong kids. We are very close. Although life now is a lot better, I do still have pain but fortunately I was a very active person at the time and that gave me good stead to fight it."

Hardin County Teen's Cancer Journey Turning Heads With Rare Surgery

It's called rotationplasty. The surgeon removes the affected bone and attaches the lower portion of the leg to the thigh, but rotated 180 degrees.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — At 14, Abigail Wimsatt knows she has a long road to recovery, and one few can relate to. The Cecilia teenager is recovering from a life-altering surgery after a bone cancer diagnosis last fall.

"Abby started high school, freshman year in August, and about mid-September she came to me saying she was having knee pain," Caitlyn Alexander, Abby's mom, said. "I thought maybe being in gym class, she'd injured herself. We tried a few home remedies. Nothing was getting better. The pain was getting worse, the knee was swelling."

It took two trips to the doctor before an x-ray revealed the cause of the pain back in October, a cancer in her tibia called Osteosarcoma.

"It's one of the more common bone cancers in teenagers and tends to be aggressive," Dr. Kerry McGowan, an oncologist with Norton Children's, said.

Osteosarcoma affects about 450 kids in the U.S. Each year.

"It was heartbreaking," Alexander said. "I always teased that she was my healthy kid. Because I've been in and out of the hospital so much with my son."

WHAS11 met Alexander at the same hospital back in 2018, when Abby's baby brother Eli was born needing a heart transplant. Norton Children's became their home away from home until their prayers were answered when he was 4 months old. WHAS11 was there as Eli received the all clear from the hospital.

"We of course have fallen in love with the staff twice now and they do become family," Alexander said.

Alexander said it's ironic both her children were treated in the same rooms at times, just years apart. Today, Eli is thriving and Abby is as positive as they come.

"I'll get through this," she said. "Things will get better."

In Abby's case, removing the cancer meant removing the bone. She started chemo within days, preparing her for a surgery that would undoubtedly turn heads.

"I'm willing to talk about it because it's not something you see everyday," Abby said.

It's called rotationplasty. The surgeon removes the affected bone along with the knee joint. The lower portion of the leg along with the foot is rotated 180 degrees and attached to the upper thigh. The ankle then becomes your knee. McGowan's seen maybe three cases of it in her 10 years with Norton Children's.

"The patients that have done it, like the flexibility. She'll still need a prosthetic, but with a knee joint, although artificial, she'll be more flexible with it," McGowan said.

McGowan said the surgery's not for everyone, but Abby found plenty of support online from families on this same journey.

"That was the thing that encouraged us to make our decision was all these moms saying, 'my son is snowboarding', 'my daughter just ran her first 10k,'" Alexander said. "They were sharing all these stories of their successes and we knew this was going to give her the best life possible."

She underwent the surgery in January.

"There were days it got so hard we wondered if we made the right decision," Alexander said. "Seeing her now and how well she's recovered is just confirmation we did make the right decision."

Today, Abby's scans are clean, with a couple more months of chemo set to wrap around her 15th birthday. She admits, it's weird.

"Sometimes, I like to balance stuff on my foot," Abby said. "It took a while before I could move it the way I wanted it to move. I'd go up and it would go off to the side. I've definitely gotten used to it. It's becoming more normal."

She knows she's one of the lucky ones.

"There's been a lot of good. We've seen a lot of kids leave. But we've also had to say goodbye to some that we've gotten close to," Alexander said. "With my son, we lost a couple heart warriors and we've lost a few cancer warriors. It's a mix of emotions and I know I'm very blessed to have walked out of here with both of my kids."

Abby will get fitted for a prosthetic in a couple months when she's through with chemo. She hopes to return to Central Hardin High in the fall.

Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.

Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.Com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.

4-year-old Girl Walks Down Pink Carpet To Ring Bell At End Of Cancer Treatment

Kataleya was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma at age 3.

A 4-year-old girl had a very festive -- and pink -- end to her cancer treatment.

Kataleya, who lives with her family in California, wore a pink crown and walked down a pink carpet to ring the bell signifying the end of her treatment for Ewing sarcoma, the type of cancer with which she was diagnosed at age 3.

Kataleya was cheered on by the doctors, nurses and staff who cared for her at MemorialCare Miller Children's & Women's Hospital in Long Beach, California.

After ringing the bell, Kataleya turned back to face everyone cheering her on and gave them a big smile.

Kataleya, 4, is pictured celebrating the end of treatment for Ewing sarcoma.

@littlewishesorg/Instagram

"4-year-old Kataleya recently rang the bell of remission to celebrate the end of her cancer treatment," the hospital wrote on Instagram, describing Kataleya as a child who loves Barbie, slime, cotton candy and unicorns.

MORE: After ringing the bell to finish chemo, woman surprised with marriage proposal

Ewing sarcoma is a type of tumor that forms in bone or soft tissue. It is most commonly diagnosed in teens and young adults, according to the National Cancer Institute

Kataleya, 4, is pictured celebrating the end of treatment for Ewing sarcoma.

@littlewishesorg/Instagram

Kataleya's cancer diagnosis came after the young girl experienced arm pain, according to her mom.

MORE: Childhood cancer 'affects the entire family' mom writes in viral post

In addition to undergoing chemotherapy, Kataleya also endured a 16-hour surgery as part of her cancer treatment.

Search This Blog

Prostate Cancer