I'm taking part in Walk of Light 2022 on 26th March, in support of Blood Cancer UK to support everyone affected by blood cancer and to light the way to a brighter future.

3 weeks ago I was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer called Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML for short) this is a type of cancer that affects the white blood cells. There is no cure but it is manageable. 

Before my diagnosis I had never heard of CML and knew VERY little about blood cancer.  I went to the hospital with a lump/ large bruise on my thigh and ended up with them finding CML. 

Personally I have found that blood cancers are not discussed much, there isn’t a lot of open discussion within society in comparison to other forms of cancer such as breast, lung, skin and prostate. CML is a rare type but there are many various forms of blood cancers. 

About 750 people in the UK are diagnosed with CML each year. To put that in perspective there are around 55,900 new breast cancer cases in the UK every year, that’s more than 150 every day… CML is only roughly 750 every year! 

I therefore decided to share my story and will do lots of fundraising going forward to raise awareness of this disease, this is my first fundraiser for blood cancer so please if you can kindly contribute I would be most grateful! 

For those that want to know more on this, CML is caused by a genetic change (mutation) in the stem cells produced by the bone marrow. The mutation causes the stem cells to produce too many underdeveloped white blood cells. It also leads to a reduction in the number of other blood cells, such as red blood cells.

For more information about Blood Cancer UK please visit www.bloodcancer.org.uk.

Thank you for reading and I hope you are able to support me! 

Kate x