People urged to take notice of the symptoms of leukaemia

Leading UK leukaemia charities launch a memorable new campaign to get people talking about the symptoms for Blood Cancer Awareness Month in September

People in the North West are being urged to take notice of the symptoms of leukaemia, as new research published today shows that only 1% of those surveyed in the region were able to identify ALL four of most widely reported symptoms- fatigue, bruising, unusual bleeding and repeated infections.

Leukaemia is a form of blood cancer affects people of all ages and 28 people receive a leukaemia diagnosis every day in the UK – that’s over 10,000 every year. Overall survival for leukaemia stands at just over 50%- making it one of the most deadly forms of cancer.

Early diagnosis could saves lives, yet the recent public survey by leukaemia charities Leukaemia UK and Leukaemia Care, found that over that over two fifths (42%) of respondents from the North West could not recognise ANY amongst the four most widely reported symptoms of the disease, which kills 5,000 people a year in the UK, and which is often diagnosed too late.

The two charities are collaborating on an important campaign, #SpotLeukaemia, to raise awareness of the symptoms ahead of Blood Cancer Awareness Month in September. Blood cancer is the fifth most common cancer and third deadliest.

In a new film released today Leukaemia Care and Leukaemia UK have called on the expertise of ‘Henry’, a talented Macaw parrot, to try to make the symptoms of leukaemia memorable. The ad sees Henry using a range of objects to create a catchy and repetitive ‘Spot Leukaemia rap’ featuring the symptoms of leukaemia.

People who are concerned about any of these symptoms – fatigue, bruising, unusual bleeding and repeated infections – are being strongly urged by the charities to contact their GP and request a blood test. More information is available on the Spot Leukaemia website at www.spotleukaemia.org.uk.

The ad focuses on the top four symptoms. Other symptoms of leukaemia include fever or night sweats, bone or joint pain and swollen lymph nodes.

The charities are now calling on people to start “parroting on” about leukaemia and its symptoms, share the video (https://youtu.be/UMRTMKVvYhQ) with friends and family, and visit the Spot Leukaemia website for more help and advice.

Awareness of the symptoms of leukaemia is low in the North West

Only 14% of respondents across the North West recognised that repeated infections – one of the most common symptoms of leukaemia – are a symptom, only 33% said unusual bruising is a symptom and only 12% said unusual bleeding is a symptom. Only 46% of respondents were not able to recognise fatigue as a symptom – which is often the most likely symptom to be identified by those later diagnosed with leukaemia.

North West case study:

23-year-old Nathan Hall, from Dalton in Cumbria, had just turned 15 when he decided to see his GP about fatigue. What followed was a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Here, Nathan talks about diagnosis, relapse and his life after leukaemia.

In March of 2015, two months after my 15th birthday, I was diagnosed with a form of cancer known as acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

When I began feeling very worn out from walking up my stairs, I went to my GP a few days later. The following night, I was called up and told to go to hospital for further tests. Then, within 48 hours of diagnosis, I was transported down to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, not knowing this is where I would end up spending the next four months battling cancer.

I quickly become accustomed to hospital life. By placing myself into a positive mindset and telling myself there was little point in dwelling on what could’ve been. I was unfortunate enough to have been dealt a bad card in life, so I dealt with it and used it as a means of building myself as a person.

By mid-summer 2015, I had battled through four rounds of intense chemotherapy which wiped me out completely – I was underweight, tired and, primarily, bald. But finally, I was declared in a state of remission and allowed to return home.

The next few months were scary for me, constant worrying if my cancer would return. Knowing the survival rates following relapse only made me overthink – much more than I should have.

Nearly a whole year had passed, and our family had planned a week in sunny Florida in the peak of summer. Around a week before the planned dates for our holiday, I began feeling a little more lethargic than usual, so, I decided to err on the side of caution and get a blood test done.

I biked two miles to the hospital, walked into the ward, and asked them to take a blood test. After confirming my history, they took it and I returned home. A week later, I was on the train down to the airport, suitcase overhead, earphones in, when I suddenly got a call from the hospital telling me I needed to come back in for more tests. I suspected at that moment the cancer had returned, and so I got off at the next station, returned home, and went back to the hospital.

I was transported, once again, back down to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital where I was to undergo a bone marrow aspiration. As expected, the results showed it had relapsed – shit. The next few weeks were relatively easy for me as I was already accustomed to the process and symptoms, but the news took a toll on my entire family. Everyone thought I was in the clear, but life always screws you over somehow.

Prof. Rob Wynn and his team proposed that I undergo a bone marrow transplant. After signing a consent form stating that I had understood this treatment could cause future cancers, or even death, I underwent conditioning chemotherapy in preparation for the transplant.

During this time, my lungs were affected by a fungal infection and filled with fluid, impairing my breathing, leading me to spend a couple of weeks in intensive care under the influence of a lot of painkillers and drugs. I then had severe, life-changing hallucinations from an allergic reaction to an antibiotic drug used to treat my infection; I believe this experiment subconsciously fascinated me once the ordeal was over, leading to me to strive toward understanding exactly how our brains can hallucinate such vivid imaginations, something which, as of now, I am still incredibly fascinated with and hope to begin studying further at university.

After recovering, I was then ready for transplant. I was moved into a secure ward with specialised air filtration in each room, and its own controlled climate. For six months I was fed food which was devoid of any flavour from the intense heat it was subjected to in order to sterilise it. After what seemed like an eternity of keeping myself occupied with building model kits and playing computer games, I was ready.

On December 23rd, Anthony Nolan delivered my new bone marrow for transplantation and, at the end of the day, I officially had the immune system of a new-born. I was released a few months after recovering and ensuring everything had grafted correctly and without issues.

Fast forward to 2019, I am now 20 years old. I went back to college and got my GCSE qualifications and started a level 3 course which has secured me a place at the University of York to study Biomedical Sciences, fulfilling my passion to understand more about the human body, disease and advancing treatments.

I will be forever grateful for my entire family and the support and sacrifices they have made to be there for me during and after treatment. I will be in remission for seven years come December 23rd 2022

Everyone that surrounded me was very supportive and caring. I got quite self-conscious about my lack of hair, and I was reluctant to go outside without a beanie hat on. This continued up until a year ago when my wonderful girlfriend gave me the courage to be happy with myself and not care what others think.

I have a completely different outlook on how I view life and people. I used to be quite cynical, only caring about me and my own little bubble, but now I am a lot more aware of the problems that people all over the world go through and how everyone copes in different ways.

Catching leukaemia in its early stages is the key to finding an effective treatment, hence why the signs and symptoms must be understood and differentiated from similar symptoms which occur in daily life. If it was not for the quick reactions of both my GP, hospital and consultants (Professor Rob Wynn, Dr John Grainger and Dr Denise Bonney), I don’t think my outlook would have been so great, so I owe them my life, literally.

Nationally, those who are over 55 also underestimate their risk, thinking that leukaemia is a childhood disease. Only 11% of over 55s thought that they had the greatest risk of leukaemia, whereas in reality cases rise sharply after the age of 55 and 38% of all new cases occur in the over 75s.

Fiona Hazell, Chief Executive of Leukaemia UK said, “It’s extremely worrying that less than 1% of Brits are able to identify the most common symptoms of leukaemia, when 28 people are diagnosed each day in the UK. People underestimate their risk by thinking that leukaemia is a childhood disease. In reality, both incidence and mortality rates rise sharply after the age of 55. Raising awareness in this age group is critical in order to treat it early and effectively; and ultimately to improve survival rates overall.”

A lack of awareness of which age groups are most at risk from leukaemia is also concerning, with 43% of respondents thinking that leukaemia is most common in the under 24s.

Whilst it is true that leukaemia is the most common type of childhood cancer, leukaemia incidence rates rise sharply after the age of 55 and 38% of all new diagnoses occur in those over 75.^[8] The survey found that only 2% of Brits think that leukaemia is most common in those over 75. The Spot Leukaemia campaign particularly wants to increase awareness among those who are over 65, as this age group is the most likely to be diagnosed with leukaemia.

Zack Pemberton-Whiteley, Chief Executive of Leukaemia Care said, “To hear that less than 1% of the UK public are able to identify the four most common symptoms of leukaemia is extremely worrying. Early diagnosis of leukaemia can improve survival. With over 10,000 people being diagnosed every year with a leukaemia, this shows just how important it is to continue to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms and how much work needs to be done.

“We know that our new Spot Leukaemia video may ruffle some feathers but in order to raise awareness we needed to create something that will fly. It’s crucial that if you think you have fatigue, bruising or bleeding or repeated infections that you contact your GP and ask for a blood test. It’s as simple as that and we will continue to parrot-on about it.”

To watch the campaign video visit www.spotleukaemia.org.uk