At 26, I thought I was knackered from looking after a new puppy and working nights – but it was actually ‘silent' cancer
WITH a new puppy and a night-shift job, Hannah Coggles put her constant exhaustion down to her hectic routine.
When her symptoms worsened, the then-26-year-old soon thought she might be pregnant, but repeated tests confirmed this wasn't the case so she brushed her concerns aside.
14
Even when some unexplained bruising appeared, Hannah didn't think too much of it. She was otherwise healthy after all.
It wasn't until she nearly collapsed at work that she thought something more serious might be at play.
Hannah, from Swaffham, Norfolk, tells Sun Health: 'In October 2020, I was deeply fatigued almost all the time.
'My husband George and I had recently got a fox red Labrador called Noodle, just before we got married, and it was exhausting.
'I almost passed out a couple of times - once at home, once at work.
'At one point I did think that maybe I was pregnant, but the tests were showing negative.
'I then got bruises on my arms and legs. They weren't necessarily big ones, but they were taking an incredibly long time to heal, and my other symptoms weren't improving.'
That finally prompted her to book a GP appointment.
Due to Covid restrictions at the time, this was over the phone - but thankfully, the doctor listened.
Believing she might be anaemic, Hannah was referred for a blood test and the very next day she got a call from a nurse on the Macmillan Ward.
Charities have raised concerns over the population's 'non-existent' awareness of leukaemia symptoms
'She told me to bring an overnight bag. I knew something wasn't right,' she recalls.
In January 2021, Hannah was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) - a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow.
There are around 760 new cases diagnosed every year in the UK.
'I couldn't process anything the consultant was saying,' Hannah says. 'It was too much for my brain to process in the moment.
'I just remember calling my loved ones. There were so many tears, a lot of crying between me and my husband.'
But there was no time to pause. She was admitted to the ward immediately, with treatment set to begin within days.
The pandemic meant she faced much of it alone in hospital, but FaceTime, phone calls, and quizzes with family and friends helped keep her grounded.
Hannah was moved from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, where she was able to see friends and family through a window, to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, where she was in a top floor ward, with no visitors permitted.
The gravity of the situation hit me hard and fast. I remember having a little breakdown the day I was due to go in to start my stem cell transplant treatment
Hannah Coggles
'My support system was incredible,' Hannah, a housewife and karate instructor, says.
'My parents made long journeys just to drop off food and essentials, my husband brought clean clothes, and the nurses were amazing too. It was the little things that kept me going.'
Hannah underwent IV and oral chemotherapy, countless blood tests, bone marrow biopsies, and intrathecal procedures.
When targeted therapy failed, she had her ovary removed in the hope of preserving fertility.
Then came high-dose chemo and radiotherapy to prepare her for a stem cell transplant from her sister Olivia in November 2021.
14
14
Physically, treatment left her weak and drained.
'I lost weight and couldn't tolerate the taste of onion or garlic, things I used to love,' she says.
'As a result, I lost a lot of weight and was very unwell.'
Mentally, she held it together, until just before the transplant.
'The gravity of the situation hit me hard and fast,' Hannah says.
'I remember having a little breakdown the day I was due to go in to start my stem cell transplant treatment.
'But luckily I managed to stay as positive as I possibly could and faced every challenge head on.'
Warning signs of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
ACUTE lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow.
It starts from white blood cells called lymphocytes and usually develops quickly over days or weeks.
Around 790 people are diagnosed with ALL every year in the UK.
But cases of leukaemia generally are rising. Since the early 1990s, incidence rates have increased by around 15 per cent in the UK, according to Cancer Research UK.
There is a similar trend in the United States, particularly in teenagers. A report by the American Cancer Society estimated there will be 66,890 new leukaemia cases and 23,540 deaths in 2025.
Dr Keith Pratz, MD, director of the Leukemia Program at Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center, told Blood Cancers Today: "Incidence rates of leukaemia are rising in adults based on SEER data going back as far as 1975.
"Many believe these are changes due to children and young adults living longer over that period, with death from other causes going down.
"There is a small but meaningful increase in younger adults with leukaemia, and we need improved reporting of risks found in these young adults to improve our understanding of this issue."
The most common symptoms of leukaemia include:
Feeling weak or tired
Shortness of breath
Pale skin
A high temperature or fever
Picking up or not being able to shake off infections easily
Bruising and bleeding easily
Swelling of your lymph nodes
Pain in your bones or joints
Feeling full or pain in your tummy
Weight loss
Most people with these symptoms don't have leukaemia, but it's important to get them checked by your GP.
Some people also experience no symptoms at all, or very minor ones which are easily brushed aside.
Source: Cancer Research UK
Even small victories mattered.
'I did laps around my bed and practiced karate. I had to keep moving,' she adds.
Her time in hospital meant she didn't get to see much of little Noodle, but she was always 'so excited' to see her when she did.
'Watching her grow via pictures was sad as I missed out on a lot of the puppy stage,' Hannah adds.
Thankfully, the treatment worked and Hannah, 31, is now in remission and back home. But her journey continues.
She has routine check-ups, will continue to take daily antibiotics for the rest of her life to protect her spleen, and is on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), usually taken during the menopause between the ages of 45 and 55, as treatment has left her infertile.
Despite continued difficulties, her perspective on life has shifted completely.
'Remission doesn't mean the ordeal is magically over'
'I've made a lot of progress physically,' Hannah, who now also has a goldador dog called Queso, says.
'My muscles and joints aren't what they used to be, and the fatigue is still there. But I'm alive, and I'm grateful.
'I say 'yes' more. I don't let people take me for granted.
'The little problems don't matter so much now and I've found peace in my own company.'
She stays strong in mind and body through regular gym workouts, karate practice, and dog walks - as well as staying close to her family and friends.
14
14
14
14
For anyone newly diagnosed, Hannah's advice is simple and powerful.
'Stay positive,' she says. 'Don't be too hard on yourself, even though it may feel like the world is crashing down.
'Some people may not be there for you that you thought would, and that's OK. Not everyone knows the right words to say - just know that it's nothing you have done.
'Get up and move, even if you're tired. And drink water - lots of water - I can't stress that enough!'
And she has a message she wants the world to hear.
'Remission isn't the end,' Hannah says. 'It doesn't magically mean the ordeal is over.
'A lot of us still live with the effects of what we have experienced.
'Be patient with us. And please, learn the signs.'
'A powerful reminder'
Leukaemia is a type of blood cancer. There are many different types, but collectively it affects around 10,300 people every year in the UK.
Common symptoms include:
Feeling weak or tired
A high temperature or fever
Bruising and bleeding easily
Picking up or not being able to shake off infections easily
Weight loss
Pale skin
Shortness of breath
Swelling of your lymph nodes
Feeling full in your tummy
Colin Dyer, CEO at Leukaemia Care, says: 'Hannah's story is a powerful reminder of how vital it is to spot the signs of leukaemia early.
'Fatigue, bruising, and persistent illness are often dismissed but they can be symptoms of something far more serious.
'Every day in the UK, 28 people are diagnosed with leukaemia, and early diagnosis can make all the difference.
'Through the #SpotLeukaemia campaign, with support from JCDecaux Community Channel, we want to ensure that everyone knows what symptoms to look out for and what to do if they are worried about a possible leukaemia diagnosis.
'The sooner someone is diagnosed, the better their treatment outcome. Early diagnosis saves lives.'
14
14
14
14
Fiona Hazell, CEO of Leukaemia UK, adds: 'Unlike solid tumours, leukaemia can usually be diagnosed by a simple full blood count test.
'Unfortunately, many people aren't aware of the signs and symptoms of leukaemia until they or someone they know is diagnosed, which can lead to dangerous delays.
'Early diagnosis saves lives, so we want to make sure more people are aware of the signs and symptoms and know to contact their GP to ask for a blood test if they're experiencing them, just like Hannah did.
'Together, we can stop leukaemia from devastating so many lives.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
36 minutes ago
- The Independent
How to actually get a good night's sleep
Getting a good night of shut eye can often seem like a Herculean task. Smartphones provide an enticing distraction — whether you're laughing at a funny YouTube video or texting with friends — and the noise and light pollution can interrupt our body clocks. But, there's no one secret to perfect sleep, and everyone is different. Some people can fall asleep in an instant (even if that seems unfair), while others stare at the ceiling for hours. 'As a nation we are not getting enough sleep,' Dr. Wayne Giles, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Division of Population Health, previously cautioned. But, what is enough, why is it important, and are there rules we can follow to get it? What is a good night's sleep? People need continuous hours of restful sleep. The American Heart Association says you want multiple cycles of all five stages of sleep, advancing into deep sleep. The two main stages of sleep are rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM. REM sleep is thought to aid in the development of the central nervous system and protect against dementia. The amount of sleep each person needs will vary and changes as we age, but adults should get between seven and nine hours of sleep per night. Otherwise, you will feel tired throughout the week. About a third of U.S. adults don't get enough sleep and many older adults don't sleep well. Sleep disorders are common, but sleep can also be disrupted by chronic health conditions. 'Older adults have different sleep patterns. They tend to sleep more lightly and may wake earlier in the morning,' Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Michelle Drerup said. 'But you still need the same amount of sleep over 24 hours, so if you're sleeping less at night, you might need a nap during the day.' Why do we need it? A good night's sleep can impact memory, adaptability, and brain function. Without enough sleep, symptoms of depression, seizures, high blood pressure, and migraines can worsen. Peoples' immunity is compromised. A lack of sleep can raise our propensity for obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes, according to Harvard Medical School. People who don't get enough are also at an increased risk of falls or accidents. Even just one night without sleep can create a prediabetic state in an otherwise healthy person, according to Johns Hopkins University. Three nights without sleep can hurt your heart, a recent study found. 'Sleep influences many aspects of health, including mood, cardiovascular health, metabolic health, and increasingly we recognize it is important for brain health,' Dr. Mark Wu, a professor of neurology, medicine, and neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University, told The Independent. 'At Hopkins, for example, we have been investigating the connection between sleep and Alzheimer's disease, and the data suggest that poor quality and insufficient sleep can be a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.' What can we do to get it? Many experts recommend similar steps — and like all good advice, the hard part is following it consistently. Getting exercise in the morning can help maintain your body's clock. Sticking to a schedule and pre-sleep routine can reinforce your body's sleep-wake cycle, according to Mayo Clinic. If you have trouble sleeping one night, try not to sleep later or nap the next day. You will sleep better that night. Federal health officials also advise people keep their bedroom quiet and cool, and turn off their electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime. Bright lights can disrupt your body's natural sleep-wake functions, also known as your circadian rhythm. Dr. Matthew Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at U.C. Berkeley, said in an email shared with The Independent that the room should be at around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Reduce caffeine after lunch and don't drink before bed. Nicotine is also a negative, Wu said. 'Most people can get good sleep, but there are many factors that can influence sleep, like pain, mood disorders like anxiety, depression, stress,' he explained.
Daily Mail
39 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
My personality changed and my behavior was erratic - people thought I was drunk but I had a serious condition
Michael King was a completely healthy 31-year-old when he suddenly started randomly clapping his hands and yelling: 'Woo-hoo!' His roommate first noticed this odd behavior while watching a sports game with him and two other friends in 1991. It would later happen again while King, now 64, was taking a romantic stroll along Newport Beach, near Los Angeles, with his then-girlfriend-now-wife, Donnita. 'Why did you do that?' she had asked in the moment. 'Do what?' he had replied. He had no recollection of his outburst. Nor, did he know he was suffering from complex partial epileptic seizures, meaning the medical phenomenon started in one part of the brain and traveled to others. He would go on to deny these occurrences were ever happening, as he never remembered them, and wrote his closest confidants off as crazy. It wasn't until he was training for a new bartending job in Costa Mesa after being fired from the Hard Rock Café that he had to face reality. During an all-team meeting, he had another outburst, unbeknownst to him. The next day, they fired him, claiming they 'over hired'. When he emotionally told a friend, Diane, who also worked there, that he had just been let go, she asked if he was okay. When she asked again, he realized something had happened. 'I just stood there as it hit me,' he wrote in his memoir, Be There When I Return. 'I hadn't believed them before, but it was hard not to believe them now.' This would begin King's journey to getting a diagnosis of epilepsy, going through a risky surgery, and eventually coming out the other side seizure-free. But his journey was anything but easy and even led him to his Los Angeles rooftop - boombox playing his favorite songs, toes over the ledge, frustrated after years of medications not stopping his erratic seizures. He had considered jumping, but he didn't. 'I went down the dark hole of why me. What did I do to deserve this? It felt like a life sentence because the medication wasn't working,' King told the Daily Mail. 'My personality changed,' he continued. 'Before the seizures, I was a bartender at the Hard Rock Café in LA - it was like the hottest place there. I would go out and get recognized, and it felt good, people looking at you.' After the seizures began, he would become more withdrawn, worried that the gazes of others meant he had another seizure, had inappropriately begun clapping and yelling: 'Woo-hoo,' unable to stop any of it. 'When I would go out and see people looking at me, I would think: 'Oh, did I just do something? Did I just have a seizure?'' he recalled. 'A lot of times it would just feel safer and better just to stay home, not go out. So it changed my personality.' King, who at the time wanted to be an actor, jumped from bartender job to bartender job, unable to hold one down due to his condition. He grappled with whether or not he should be upfront about his disease with employers or hide it as best he could. It wasn't until he got a job at Giggles that he truly saw how supportive his coworkers were. One bartender even helped distract customers while King was having an episode, often saying he was just playing around or helping it look like he was dancing to the music. His bosses also helped support him. Despite finding a balance at work, it didn't ease King's frustrations. He was taking high dosages of several anti-seizure medications and finding zero relief. For years, he upped dosages, changed medication, prayed for it all to stop, worried it wouldn't. It wasn't until his sister, Karen, called him one day to tell him about a surgery one of her former classmates, who was also epileptic, had where doctors removed parts of her right temporal lobe to stop her seizures. After more than five years of no relief, King was ready to try anything. After several phases of testing and undergoing two surgeries where doctors placed strips along the indents of his brain to test where the seizures were originating, he got the surgery - despite the risks. Doctors had warned him, Donnita, and his parents that he could suffer short-term or long-term memory loss from the surgery. He said his mom and Donnita were fearful that there was the possibility that he would not remember them when I returned from surgery. But miraculously, he did. 'When I came out of surgery, and I was in ICU, I remember seeing three objects next to me that started to get clearer. One was the girlfriend. So I reached up, held her hand and kissed it. And then saw my parents and waved, and then went back to sleep,' he told the Daily Mail. This is also the moment that inspired his book title, Be There When I Return, as he was hoping he'd remember them post-surgery. It also referred to his wife. 'She was always there when I returned from these seizures,' he said. He would go on to have a few seizures following the surgery, which is normal. And for many years after, he still took high dosages of anti-seizure medication. Eventually, he would titrate off them and he is now completely off medication and still seizure-free. Now, he wants to help raise awareness of the disease that affects every one in 26 Americans. The condition affects 65million people worldwide and 60 percent of them have no known cause for it. King, himself, is unclear what triggered his own. Although, he largely suspects it stems from being fired from the Hard Rock Café. 'That was a very stressful and a very emotional moment,' he told the Daily Mail. 'I said in the book, I don't remember how I got home. There's two different ways I usually went home, and if someone said: 'Which way did you get home?' I wouldn't be able to tell you so. 'I started thinking, what else, if there was any other possibility. If I had played football and had seven concussions, and I would go: 'Well, maybe that's it.' But there wasn't, there was nothing else. 'I think that's the frustrating thing for doctors. It's all over the board, and there's not just one answer on why this this happens.' Until 2020, King had no plans on sharing his story and only began writing his memoir at his wife's encouragement. He credits Donnita with keeping him alive and is one of the reasons he chose not to take his life at his lowest point. 'Honestly, if she wasn't there, I think things would have ended differently on the rooftop in the first chapter,' he said. Now, he credits her for the existence of this book. 'If not for my wife, I would have taken this to the grave,' he said. He hopes his story will help bring awareness to others and to educate the masses on the disease that is often misunderstood. 'The only thing I knew about epilepsy is what I had seen in movies or on TV,' King revealed. 'And someone said: 'Oh, you know, Bobby's having an epileptic seizure, and he's on the ground.' 'And that's why when the doctor said it, I looked at my girlfriend. I was thinking: 'Did he not hear what you described?' I said: 'I don't fall on the ground. I don't do that.' And that's when the doctor said: 'Well, there's numerous types of epilepsy.' He also hopes one day his story could be made into a movie. And although a younger version of himself would have jumped at the opportunity to appear on screen, he's hoping a fellow St. Ignatius College Preparatory School alumni - Darren Criss, of Glee fame - would play him. But whether or not his story makes it to the screen, he just wants to get his story out there for those who need it most.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
NHS spent £100 million on post last year
The NHS spent at least £102 million on posting letters last year despite pledging to go digital because of unreliable deliveries. The amount spent on sending mail, which can regularly arrive late and cause missed appointments, was up by 12.5 per cent on the year before, according to new research by the Taxpayers' Alliance. The research results have been released as the health service is about to get £30 billion more over three years in Rachel Reeves's spending review this week, to the detriment of other public services. They also revealed the NHS could make major savings in electricity and laundry costs, as well as reducing the eight million missed appointments that occur each year. The Telegraph previously revealed that the Royal Mail was introducing a new NHS barcode to cut late deliveries and the risk of missed appointments. But health officials have also pledged to do more to communicate with patients online and through the NHS app. Last week, the Department of Health said the app would become the default method of communication for patients seeking appointment reminders, screening invitations and test results as part of a major investment that would mean 50 million fewer letters are posted each year. The research from the Taxpayers' Alliance found that at least £102 million was spent in 2023-24 across 120 NHS hospital trusts, an average of £850,000 each. The researchers said this was a 'growing expense' with the costs rising by 12.5 per cent on the £90.3 million spent in 2022-23. Previous research found that as many as one in four of the eight million appointments that patients miss each year were because letters to patients arrived after the date of the planned appointment. Simon Cook, a research fellow of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said the public 'expect the NHS to double down on cutting any inefficient and wasteful expenditure'. 'With the health service facing financial pressures, there are huge savings to be made through simple, common sense changes,' he said. 'Ministers must recognise that sometimes the biggest savings don't always require major reforms, just the will to act.' The research paper also found that the NHS could save more than £150 million on electricity costs if it utilised its buying power. It said the average cost of electricity across NHS trusts in England was 30.5p per kWh in 2023-24, which was 'typically the rate that medium-sized businesses pay'. £154m potential laundry savings The NHS is the biggest single employer in Europe and 'if every NHS trust paid the average extra-large non-domestic consumer price of 22.6p, the saving would amount to £154 million in 2023-24,' the researchers said. The researchers also found significant discrepancies across the country in the amount being spent on laundry. While the NHS spent £270 million to launder 555 million items at an average cost of 48.7p per item, some areas achieved lower costs of 25p per item, while others spent £1.20. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: 'This government inherited a broken NHS with wasteful spending, in desperate need of reform. 'Yesterday, we announced major investment in the NHS app to turbocharge our digital revolution – saving hundreds of millions in taxpayers' money spent on stamps and envelopes, and enabling push notifications and reminders to help cut missed appointments. We are also cutting NHS energy bills through solar power and renewable energy – delivering further savings for the taxpayer. 'Through our Plan for Change, we are reforming the NHS to ensure that every penny is spent on what matters most.' An NHS England spokesman said: 'Millions of patients are already receiving appointment reminders, screening invitations, and test results direct to their smartphones from the NHS, saving millions of pounds, avoiding the need for letters and freeing-up resources for patient care. 'People without access to smartphones and elderly patients will still receive messages through traditional routes such as letters to ensure they don't miss important information. 'The NHS is continually exploring ways to achieve the best possible value for taxpayers, including making targeted investment in technologies that can enable us to optimise our resources and boost productivity.'
