Scots woman 'saved by handprint bruise' after devastating cancer diagnosis
A Scots woman diagnosed with blood cancer three times has told how a handprint bruise "saved her life".
Nichola Smith, 44, from Glasgow, fell unwell at the age of 12, suffering fatigue, high temperatures and bouts of diarrhoea. After playing with her brother and cousins, she noticed a strange bruise on her hand.
Speaking to our sister title, Glasgow Live, said: 'I remember one of them had grabbed me and it left a bruise on my arm in the shape of a handprint.'
She went to the GP with her mum, where she was diagnosed with a viral illness. After being sent home, Nichola collapsed and was rushed to hospital.
Just hours later, the then-schoolgirl was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML).
Nichola said: 'Mum watched a lot of medical programmes and as soon as I was taken to hospital she said she had a feeling it was leukaemia. She knew that the extreme bruises were a symptom. I went into complete panic mode. I thought I was going to die.'
Treatment began immediately for Nichola, and after several blood transfusions and five rounds of chemotherapy, she returned home to begin the road to recovery. But the following year, received the devastating news that her AML was back.
She then underwent a bone marrow transplant to put her in remission. Thankfully, the treatment was successful and she was finally able to resume normal teenage life.
She went on to attend regular testing to monitor the potential after-effects of the harsh treatment she had received. It was during one of these appointments in 2006 that a routine mammogram revealed she had pre-cancerous cells in both her breasts - a common side effect of the leukaemia treatment she had received. Nichola was 26 at the time.
She said: 'It was another trauma to get through. They said I would need a double mastectomy. I had three major operations and a lot of recovery time. I still get checked every year for any breast cancer cells.'
Just when Nichola thought she was finally in the clear, bad news struck again in January 2022, when she contracted COVID-19 and found she struggled to recover. Tests revealed she had myelodysplasia, a blood cancer that could eventually lead, once more, to AML. For the fourth time, Nichola's world was rocked by cancer.
Nichola said: 'I was devastated. I kept saying to myself 'Here we go again' and 'why me'. I have had so much bad luck in my life with my health and I couldn't believe I was going to have to fight again.'
Nichola was placed on the 'watch and wait' list, then started on blood transfusions. In August 2023, she received the news that her blood cancer had progressed and she once again needed chemotherapy, as well as radiotherapy and a stem cell transplant.
With significant progress in cancer research since Nichola's first stem cell transplant in 1996, her brother, Andrew, was now able to donate stem cells with only a 50% match. Thankfully, the transplant was successful. Nichola is sharing her story in support of the #SPOTLeukaemia campaign. which aims to raise awareness about the signs and symptoms of the disease.
The most common symptoms of leukaemia are:
Extreme tiredness (fatigue)
Bruising
Unusual bleeding
Repeated infections
Colin Dyer, CEO at Leukaemia Care said: 'Nichola's story is a powerful reminder of why we all need to know the signs and symptoms of leukaemia. The reality is that leukaemia can develop quickly and be life-threatening, yet the early symptoms like fatigue, bruising or repeated infections are often mistaken for less serious illnesses.
'That's why our #SpotLeukaemia campaign is so important. We want everyone to be aware of the signs, because recognising something as seemingly simple as a handprint-shaped bruise can, quite literally, save a life.'
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