A mother who felt she was being “eaten away” after hot flushes led to an incurable blood cancer diagnosis in her late 50s has said she is learning to let go of her old self to “recreate the new me” as she responds well to treatment and urges other women not to ignore their symptoms.
“I wanted to go in and for them to say, ‘No, it was a mistake, it’s something else,’ but they didn’t, they said it was CML.” “I still feel tired, there can be days where I can sleep for hours, and there can be days where I have a good day, and when you have a good day, you just make the most of it. On top of this, she said she was experiencing regular hot flushes, but she attributed this to the warm, balmy weather and “thought no more of it”.
She added: “I never ever got hot flushes. Even though I was put on HRT patches, it was mainly for my bone pain, so I just put it to the back of my mind and I thought no more of it.” Barbara started treatment the same day she was diagnosed, which she said was the “first positive move”. Looking further ahead, she is planning a trip to New York for her husband Paul’s 60th birthday, who she said has been her “rock” throughout and has done everything to support her without complaint.