Blackpool athlete's 'long Covid' turned out to be terminal cancer
She said that after a series of relapses and months of treatment over the course of last year, she received a stem cell transplant in December and was declared cancer-free.However, just a week later, in early March this year, Ms Knowles was given the "bitter" news the leukaemia had returned.The hair salon owner, whose "typical weekend" before her diagnosis involved 100-mile bike rides and 15-mile runs, walked 20 miles around Fairhaven Lake on 16 March to raise funds for clinical research at King's College Hospital.She said she hoped any donations would improve research on AML, a particularly aggressive cancer which, she said, had not seen any "solid advancements" in treatment for 50 years."I always thought that relapse would be a real possibility, but obviously, I just didn't expect it to be so soon," she said."All I really miss now is going to work and training. That's all I want – just my normal day and my normal routine."It might sound odd to some people, but I would just love to take the dog for a run and go to work, more than anything."With AML, she explained: "Even if there's a speck of it left, it just regrows."And what regrows is basically the resistant cells, the ones that have evaded and resisted the previous chemo."Ms Knowles' consultant at Blackpool Victoria Hospital had given her three options – try to get a transplant despite her relapse, join a clinical trial, or "do nothing".In November, after various unsuccessful trials, Olivia was given a novel Car-T treatment – immunotherapy which genetically modifies a patient's T-cells to attack cancer.
The treatment at King's College Hospital in London was followed by the stem cell transplant."The initial bone marrow findings were excellent," she said."There were no signs of disease. It was a really positive result at first."Last month, she was readmitted with gut issues, a common side effect of stem cell transplants, but blood tests "showed active disease".Ms Knowles said her consultant was "blindsided" by her relapse, because the transplant had gone so well.While home with her mum Susan and dad Stephen, she decided "on a little bit of a whim" to walk a marathon around Fairhaven Lake to raise funds for the clinical research team at King's.The former triathlete was forced to stop after 20 miles but still raised more than £25,000.She hopes the money would contribute to "solid advancements", saying the team at King's were "on the cusp of something excellent with their development of Car-T treatment for AML"."For them to have something that can help treat children, it gives you a bit more hope," she said.
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Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Daily Mirror
'I couldn't lift head off pillow - they said I wouldn't make Christmas'
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Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Daily Mail
Mother-of-three died without her children at her side and far from home after being forced to travel to London for cancer treatment
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Belfast Telegraph
6 days ago
- Belfast Telegraph
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