Brave West Lothian women discovers back pain is actually deadly blood cancer – Daily Record
By daniellenierenberg
A brave West Lothian mum was floored after doctors found her sciatica pain was actually a symptom of a deadly blood cancer which had hollowed out her bones.
Judith Green had suffered from back pain on several occasions over the last 10 years but was repeatedly told it was likely due to a trapped nerve and would resolve itself.
The 42-year-olds pain became too much in June 2019 when she woke screaming in the middle of the night before repeatedly vomiting blood over the next two days.
She took herself to St Johns Hospital in Livingston where doctors soon made the shock diagnosis of myeloma cancer which had left her kidneys functioning at only 15 per cent.
The mum-of-two was told that the condition - which normally affects men over the age of 60 - was incurable but doctors hoped to extend her life through various treatments.
She underwent a stem cell transplant with her own cells in January 2019 but was heartbroken when medics revealed the cancer had returned just seven months later.
The former waitress has vowed to keep fighting so she can meet her future grandchildren and is urging people to register as stem cell donors in a bid to save more lives.
She explained: I remember thinking but its just a sore back. I had never heard of myeloma before I got diagnosed with it.
I 100 per cent thought I was going to hospital that day because I had sciatica. With myeloma, it eats away at your bone marrow.
My ribs were sore but I brushed it off thinking it was my new bra digging in. When my back hurt, I thought it was the new car seat causing it.
But in reality, I had almost no bone marrow. It was 90 per cent cancerous cells. I just made excuse after excuse but looking back I now realise that it was all part of it.
My kidneys were only working at 15 per cent, which explained why I was so thirsty.
Doctors immediately started Judith on a course of chemotherapy and steroids before attempting to harvest some of her remaining bone marrow.
The first attempt was unsuccessful but the next managed to gather enough cells to provide at least three more transplants.
The cells were then deep frozen before being transplanted back into the mum-of-two in January this year - a move which they hoped would buy her at least 18 more months.
But a blood test in August revealed that the myeloma had returned a lot quicker than expected meaning she now has to undergo a second transplant from a mystery donor.
They then discovered Judith had sepsis and MRSA and having no immune system and blood cancer, Judith said she was the sickest she had ever been.
She continued: They were hoping I would make it 18 months post transplant but they discovered in August that the cancer had returned and it had only worked for seven months.
Thats when we found out that they wouldnt be able to use my own cells again because it wasnt worth putting me through all that again.
So now Ill be going back on chemo in January and getting a transplant from a worldwide donor. Thankfully the transplant team has already found a match for me on the system.
Judith continued: Im really lucky that theres a match out there for me. But there are so many others, who are a lot sicker than I am, that dont have theirs yet.
The reason I wanted to speak out is to raise awareness of myeloma and stem cell donation.
You really could be giving someone a second chance at life by spitting into a tube. Back in the day it was a bone marrow transplant but now its stem cells.
Its no different from giving blood. I would just ask everyone to go have a look into it and see if they want to or are able to register.
Judith, who lives with her two sons and partner Steven (46), added: I may not be able to do some of the things I did before like go to the cinema with the boys but Im still here.
And I hope to be here long enough to see my grandkids. I know Ill keep fighting after that to see them grow up then. But for now, its just taking each day as it comes.
To find out more about stem cell donation for those aged under 30 visit https://www.anthonynolan.org/.
Those over 30 can visit https://www.dkms.org.uk/en.
Continued here:
Brave West Lothian women discovers back pain is actually deadly blood cancer - Daily Record
- Rejuvenating the immune system by depleting certain stem cells - National Institutes of Health (NIH) (.gov) - April 19th, 2024
- New gene therapy eliminates need for bone marrow transplant. Here's how it works. - CBS News - April 19th, 2024
- New gene therapy eliminates need for bone marrow transplant. Here's how it works. - MSN - April 19th, 2024
- Long Island boy with rare blood disorder undergoes gene therapy - MSN - April 19th, 2024
- Philadelphia Wings player, Connecticut man will be forever bonded by bone marrow donation: "He's my hero" - CBS Philly - April 10th, 2024
- VRD versus VCD as induction therapy before autologous stem cell transplantation in multiple myeloma: a nationwide ... - Nature.com - April 10th, 2024
- Register as a bone marrow donor today and save lives - The Citizen - April 10th, 2024
- Resilient anatomy and local plasticity of naive and stress haematopoiesis - Nature.com - March 26th, 2024
- A Deeper Depth of Response After Salvage Therapy Improves Outcomes of Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation in ... - Cureus - March 26th, 2024
- Iron restriction keeps blood stem cells young, researchers find - Phys.org - March 18th, 2024
- Blood drive, bone marrow testing to be held in local woman's memory - The Winchester Star - March 18th, 2024
- Signal of Benefit for Stem Cell Therapy in Progressive MS - Medscape - March 10th, 2024
- Woman, 22, With Leukemia Recalls Symptoms And New Treatment She Received: EXCLUSIVE - TODAY - March 10th, 2024
- This Swedish startup wants to reduce the cost, and controversy, around stem cell production - TechCrunch - March 10th, 2024
- Outcomes and prognosis of haploidentical haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in children with FLT3-ITD mutated ... - Nature.com - March 10th, 2024
- Harmonizing definitions for hematopoietic recovery, graft rejection, graft failure, poor graft function, and donor ... - Nature.com - March 10th, 2024
- Hematopoietic cell transplantation and cell therapy activity landscape survey in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; a report ... - Nature.com - March 10th, 2024
- How an MS friendship led to HSCT and a love of running - Multiple Sclerosis News Today - March 10th, 2024
- Iron Limitation Preserves Youthfulness of Blood Stem Cells - Mirage News - March 10th, 2024
- Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Advanced Systemic Mastocytosis: A retrospective analysis of the ... - Nature.com - March 10th, 2024
- AJMC in the Press, February 23, 2024 - AJMC.com Managed Markets Network - February 24th, 2024
- Orca Bio Presents Promising Data on Orca-T in Two Oral Presentations at the 2024 Tandem Meetings of ASTCT and ... - Yahoo Finance - February 24th, 2024
- New approaches to live-track the production of different types of blood cells in mice - Medical Xpress - February 24th, 2024
- If Other Treatments Aren't Working -- Stem Cell Transplant May Be A Good Option In CLL - SurvivorNet - February 24th, 2024
- Expanding the Horizons of Cell and Gene Therapy - RegMedNet - February 24th, 2024
- The strangers who saved each others lives - BBC - February 24th, 2024
- City of Hope Research Featuring the Successful Treatment of the Oldest Patient to Achieve Remission for Leukemia ... - StreetInsider.com - February 15th, 2024
- 3D printing and material processing combined to create artificial bone - Optics.org - February 15th, 2024
- Man, 63, is in remission from HIV five years after receiving groundbreaking stem cell transplant... - The Sun - February 15th, 2024
- Team demonstrates fabrication method to construct 3D structures that mimic bone microstructure - Phys.org - February 15th, 2024
- Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Their Role in Development and Disease Therapy - The Scientist - February 15th, 2024
- Blood cell family trees trace how production changes with aging - MIT News - February 7th, 2024
- New study on promising stem cell-based therapy for Crohn's disease - Medical Xpress - January 30th, 2024
- Second haploidentical bone marrow transplantation with antithymocyte antibody-containing conditioning regimen for ... - Nature.com - January 30th, 2024
- Stem cell study shows how gene activity modulates the amount of immune cell production in mice - Medical Xpress - January 30th, 2024
- Global Stem Cell Therapy Industry Outlook to 2028, Driven by Therapeutic Innovations and Clinical Advancements ... - Yahoo Finance - January 30th, 2024
- 1st-of-its-kind therapy blocks immune attack after stem-cell transplant - Livescience.com - January 22nd, 2024
- Individualized dose of anti-thymocyte globulin based on weight and pre-transplantation lymphocyte counts in pediatric ... - Nature.com - January 22nd, 2024
- Implications of stress-induced gene expression for hematopoietic stem cell aging studies - Nature.com - January 22nd, 2024
- LVHN announces opening of new stem cell transplant center. Here's what that means for the Lehigh Valley - The Morning Call - January 22nd, 2024
- Fast Five Quiz: Chronic GVHD Risk Factors and Prevention - Medscape Reference - January 22nd, 2024
- Could Treatments for HIV and Sickle Cell Open the Gene Therapy Floodgates? - BioSpace - January 22nd, 2024
- Effects of fine particulate matter on bone marrow-conserved hematopoietic and mesenchymal stem cells: a systematic ... - Nature.com - January 14th, 2024
- Donating Bone Marrow and Stem Cells: The Process and What To Expect - On Cancer - Memorial Sloan Kettering - January 14th, 2024
- No, Rep. Steve Scalise Didn't Vote Against Stem Cell Research From Which He Is Now Benefiting - Yahoo News - January 14th, 2024
- Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Market to Grow Rapidly During the Study Period (2019-2032), Evaluates ... - PR Newswire - January 14th, 2024
- Life-saving donation from Philly athlete saves life: 'Feeling so strong, I owe that all to him' - AOL - January 14th, 2024
- The Key to Creating Blood Stem Cells May Lie in Your Own Blood - ScienceAlert - January 14th, 2024
- Dr Phillips on the Rationale for the GLOBRYTE Trial in Relapsed/Refractory MCL - OncLive - January 14th, 2024
- COVID-19 and HSCT Recipients: Risk Factors and Prevention Measures - Medriva - January 14th, 2024
- Bone Marrow Transplant: Heres What You Need To Know About This Therapy - Times Now - January 5th, 2024
- New insights about the development of hematopoietic stem cells - Drug Target Review - December 28th, 2023
- Bone Marrow Transplantation | Johns Hopkins Medicine - December 20th, 2023
- Stem Cell or Bone Marrow Transplant | American Cancer Society - December 20th, 2023
- Embryonic-stem-cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells relieve experimental contact urticaria by regulating the functions ... - Nature.com - December 20th, 2023
- Researchers discover crucial step in creating blood stem cells - Phys.org - December 20th, 2023
- A niche topic: understanding the development of hematopoietic stem cells - Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center - December 20th, 2023
- Vertex developed a CRISPR cure. Its already on the hunt for something better. - MIT Technology Review - December 20th, 2023
- FDA approves cure for sickle cell disease, the first treatment to use gene-editing tool CRISPR - NBC News - December 12th, 2023
- First therapy using CRISPR technology will treat sickle cell disease - Morning Brew - December 12th, 2023
- 7 medical breakthroughs that gave us hope in 2023 - National Geographic - December 12th, 2023
- Understanding Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment - Everyday Health - December 12th, 2023
- Mansour bin Zayed witnesses inauguration of ADSCC Bone Marrow Transplant & Cellular Therapy Congress 2023 - ZAWYA - November 26th, 2023
- ADSCC Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy Congress 2023 to take place in Abu Dhabi - ZAWYA - November 18th, 2023
- Orchard Therapeutics Reports First Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Announces Initiation of Rolling Submission for Biologics License Application of... - May 16th, 2023
- Family of 7-month-old in need of bone marrow transplant hosting donor registration event - CBS Pittsburgh - May 8th, 2023
- Anika Continues to Expand Addressable Market for Tactoset Injectable Bone Substitute with Additional 510(k) Clearance from FDA - Marketscreener.com - April 5th, 2023
- MorphoSys Completes Enrollment of Phase 3 MANIFEST-2 Study of Pelabresib in Myelofibrosis with Topline Results Expected by End of 2023 -... - April 5th, 2023
- VOR BIOPHARMA INC. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations (form 10-K) - Marketscreener.com - March 25th, 2023
- BioRestorative Therapies to Seek FDA Approval to Expand the Clinical Application of BRTX-100 - Marketscreener.com - March 17th, 2023
- BioSenic delivers a new post-hoc analysis of its Phase III JTA-004 trial on knee osteo-arthritis with positive action on the most severely affected... - March 17th, 2023
- JASPER THERAPEUTICS, INC. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (form 10-K) - Marketscreener.com - March 9th, 2023
- For a range of unmet medical needs, India offers a fantastic opportunity to push cell and gene therapies: B .. - ETHealthWorld - March 9th, 2023
- NGM BIOPHARMACEUTICALS INC Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. (form 10-K) - Marketscreener.com - March 1st, 2023
- Bone health: Tips to keep your bones healthy - Mayo Clinic - January 27th, 2023
- Bone marrow drive held for military wife with cancer - January 27th, 2023
- Bone cancer - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic - January 27th, 2023
- Bone | Definition, Anatomy, & Composition | Britannica - January 19th, 2023
- Bone Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster - January 19th, 2023
- What Is Bone? | NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National ... - January 19th, 2023