With shooting pains down my leg, I knew something was wrong...
As I moved off the sofa, I felt the now familiar tinge of pain across my back and hips.
‘That hurts,’ I said to my husband Michael.
For the past few months, I’d been experiencing back and hip pain which was slowly getting worse.
I saw the GP who told me that, since it wasn’t sciatica, there was nothing to worry about. And I was given painkillers and various physiotherapy exercises.
But the pain continued. I even went to a chiropractor, but nothing helped.
As the weeks went on, the pain changed and I noticed I also had numbness in my hands and feet.
‘It’s like when you burn your fingers and you can’t feel them properly,’ I tried to explain to Michael.
Then months later, I was lying in bed when I noticed a new sensation.
It was like little electric shocks were racing up my body from my feet into
my legs.
I fidgeted, moving my legs to get rid of the pain. But I couldn’t escape it.
Next day, I returned to the GP, telling them about the numbness.
I was referred for blood tests and, a few days later,
I was out walking the dog when my phone rang.
‘Carol, I have bad news,’
a consultant said.
'Carol, I have bad news.'
It was then I was diagnosed with myeloma, an incurable blood cancer.
I was shocked. It was a type of cancer usually found in older people.
The consultant explained a watch-and-wait approach would be adopted, and that I’d be having monthly tests to monitor my blood cells.
I had a clinical background, and
struggled to understand why the cancer wasn’t being zapped away.
It was only when tests revealed the cancer count in my blood had increased that I was put on chemotherapy tablets.
I had time off work as
I underwent treatment.
With nothing else to focus on,
I struggled with my
mental health.
After six months, my condition was stable. However, I’ve been told
the cancer will return.
It is a scary prospect,
as next time I may have
to undergo a stem cell transplant.
All I can do is take each day as it comes and live in the moment.
Having an incurable cancer has changed my perspective on life.
I try to laugh more and not take things too seriously.
I’m also involved with
the charity Myeloma UK which is raising money
for more research, something that is desperately needed for better treatments.
Carol McGachie, 56, West Lothian