Latest news with #myeloma
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Channel 10 star Barry Du Bois reveals harrowing moment he was given ‘three months to live'
Channel 10 presenter Barry Du Bois has penned an emotional essay about his ongoing cancer battle, revealing a doctor once told him he had 'three months to live'. The father of two was first diagnosed in 2010 with solitary plasmacytoma, a rare form of blood cancer. That diagnosis later progressed to myeloma in 2017, which is an incurable cancer that affects the immune system and attacks bone marrow. 'I was sitting in a cold, unfamiliar consult room at the hospital, my wife's hand holding mine … then a doctor who had known me for only a few hours looked me in the eye and told me I had three months to live,' he penned in letter for The Gold Coast Bulletin, recalling his earlier diagnosis. It wasn't the first time the presenter has had to deal with medical setbacks. He had previously broken his back after falling 14 metres from a roof, and later went through years of failed IVF treatment with his wife, Leonie, which included a miscarriage and her own cancer diagnosis just two weeks later. He credits all those personal battles to his ongoing cancer fight, continuing to spend as much time with his beloved family as possible. 'When I got my diagnosis – incurable cancer, three months to live – I didn't fall apart … I knew that from leaning into the previous adversities of life I had the resilience to give the fight of my life,' Du Bois said. But that hadn't always been the case. After his wife's miscarriage and cancer diagnosis, Du Bois initially struggled to find a way to go on. 'I avoided conversation and started a continual negative conversation with myself that took me into the darkness … depression is a lonely state and I refused to share my pain. I saw it as a weakness.' But in the end his family helped to pull him through, and he's since used the positive outlook to give him the strength to keep going. Du Bois first appeared on Aussie screens in 2011 as a contestant on The Renovators, before joining Amanda Keller, Dr Chris Brown and Miguel Maestre as a co-host on The Living Room. He's been very vocal about his cancer journey over the last decade, regularly sharing inspiring updates and honest confessions on his social media platforms with fans as he continues to beat his initial devastating prognosis handed to him. 'I was overwhelmed with fear, uncertainty, and the unknown,' he said earlier this year of his diagnosis. 'But through it all, I realised something that I feel is why I am here today: It wasn't going to be cancer that defined me but the way I choose to approach it.'
BBC News
26-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Pocklington woman's marathon effort in fight against myeloma
A woman is running six marathons around Europe in honour of her father who died from an incurable blood Taylor, 44, from Pocklington, East Yorkshire, set herself a challenge of running more than 150 miles after Dave Duff died in November mother-of-three will take part in races in Paris, Athens, Manchester, Leeds, Chester and York to raise awareness of myeloma, a deadly blood said she wanted to "help save others by running in memory of my dad". "My dad was a wonderful man and we were very close," Ms Taylor said."We'd never heard of myeloma before so it was a big shock when he was diagnosed, and an even bigger shock when we found his condition was incurable."Running in memory of my dad might help me save others."Ms Taylor's efforts will be in aid of Myeloma are about 33,000 people in the UK living with the disease, which affects bone marrow, according to the charity. Symptoms include pain in the back or ribs, fatigue and bones that break Duff had back pain for more than a year before he was diagnosed with myeloma in January 2018."Because Dad worked a physical job as a site manager at a caravan park when he complained of back pain, we just thought he was overdoing it," Ms Taylor said."After a slipped disc, he had tests which revealed fractures in his spine and he was diagnosed with osteoporosis that then led to an investigation which unearthed the cancer." Despite being unwell, he managed to walk his daughter down the aisle when she married her husband Dale in 2023. He died aged 67."I know Dad would have wanted me to focus on the positives like he did," Ms Taylor said."That's why I am running six marathons for him this year."Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Daily Mail
23-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
'Fit and healthy' stepdad told he had constipation...two weeks later he was dead - and thousands more could be at risk
The devastated stepdaughter of a 'healthy and fit' man who died of deadly cancer within two weeks of being fobbed off by doctors has urged GPs to be more aware of subtle symptoms. Ronnie Haston, 68, died unexpectedly in April 2024 just two weeks after being diagnosed with the blood cancer myeloma. He'd only begun feeling unwell just a fortnight before his diagnosis, suffering constipation, muscle weakness and extreme fatigue. 'He just didn't look right,' said his daughter Beth Hunt, a 42 year-old nurse from East Calder. He sought help from the GP about his symptoms, but was sent away with laxatives to treat the constipation, and was told he must wait two weeks for a blood test. But his health quickly declined, and his wife Anne rushed him to A&E for urgent care. In the hospital, tests found his kidney function had plummeted to just 14 per cent and he had extremely high calcium levels—both warning signs of serious blood problems. He was eventually diagnosed with myeloma, a deadly type of blood cancer that originates in the bone marrow, where blood cells are created. If diagnosed at early stages, when the disease has not spread around the body, around 80 per cent of patients will live for at least five years. But at later stages this drops to around 40 per cent. 'He was fit and healthy, he had no underlying health conditions. It was a complete shock to us all,' Ms Hunt said of his diagnosis. Doctors assured the family they had a 'full plan' and that Mr Haston would start chemotherapy and be a good candidate for a stem cell transplant. But during his two rounds of chemotherapy he developed life-threatening pneumonia, which eventually resulted in multiple organ failure. He died within two days of becoming ill with the lung disease. Shortly before his death, Mr Hunt had been making plans for his retirement with his wife. 'He didn't get to enjoy one day of retirement with my mum or do any of the future they had planned together. 'If Ronnie hadn't been so unwell by the time he got into hospital, he would have been in a better position to fight it,' said Ms Hunt. Symptoms of the disease—which include back pain, broken bones, fatigue, and recurring infection—are often missed and instead linked to just general ageing or minor conditions and injuries. Constipation is a lesser-known symptom, caused by a build up of calcium in the blood triggered by the cancer. Ms Hunt added: 'It's not people's fault, it's the system's fault. The catalogue of errors, the wait. We kept saying, "he needs a blood test", but he couldn't get one for two weeks. 'In this day and age how is that acceptable? If somebody is unwell, you need the blood test now. Even in hospital, it was all too little too late. The big thing for me is educating GPs.' In honour of her stepfather, mum-of-two Beth has started a JustGiving page and decided to run the Edinburgh Marathon to raise money for Myeloma UK. There are an estimated 6,000 new cases of myeloma per year in the UK, with more than 35,000 in the US. It occurs due to changes in immune system cells called plasma cells, which replicate at a faster rate and cause a host of problems. It's often called multiple myeloma because it can be found in several places — wherever there is bone marrow. While chemotherapy can reduce the number of myeloma cells, doctors aren't yet able to eradicate them completely. Speaking of her upcoming marathon challenge Ms Hunt said: 'I know I can do at least half but I'll probably have to push through the last six miles. 'I tend to run at night when my husband's here and the children are sleeping. I think of Ronnie and my mum when I run – the last year without him has been awful for her. 'If she can wake up without him and can put one foot in front of the other then I can take it one step at a time too.'
The Sun
09-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Gran, 68, with horror cough told ‘it's just hay fever' by GP until husband twigged it was incurable cancer – but would you spot the signs?
WHEN Angela Hill noticed she couldn't shift her cough, she booked to see her GP. Feeling breathless and weak, the now 68-year-old was fobbed off and dismissed by medics. Yet in hindsight she says there were other clues - typically put down to ageing - that something was seriously wrong. 5 5 She first saw her GP in June 2018 with a persistent chesty cough. But the 68-year-old was told her symptoms were likely caused by hay fever. "My cough was so horrendous, once I started I couldn't' stop," she tells Sun Health. 'It took my breath away completely and made me feel weak. I sounded like I smoked 50 a day. 'My doctor couldn't find anything wrong with my chest and because of the time of year he said it was probably hay fever. "But I'd never suffered from it, didn't have any allergies and didn't have other hay symptoms such as sneezing or itchy, red eyes. 'In hindsight, there were other signs something was seriously wrong. "I had a tiredness I couldn't shake and a mouth full of ulcers, but it took four visits to the doctor before I was given blood tests. 'I really pushed for tests with my doctor and I am so glad I did – it meant I had an early diagnosis and probably saved my life.' In March 2019, after blood tests and an X-ray at Corbett Hospital in Stourbridge, Angela was diagnosed with myeloma, an incurable blood cancer that occurs in the bone marrow. What is myeloma? The disease affects around 33,000 people in the UK. 'When the doctor said I had myeloma, I didn't know what it was and I couldn't really take it in,' she said. 'It was my husband who twigged it was cancer. "When you hear those words you just think that's the end but my consultant explained while it was incurable it was treatable. 5 5 "I told him I had young grandsons and I wanted to see them in big school.' Thankfully, Angela's cancer was caught early. In fact, her disease levels were so low that she didn't need treatment straight away. She said: 'For a year I led a relatively normal life, I just needed to get my blood tested regularly. "Because I had been persistent with the doctor my cancer was caught early and it hadn't had a chance to do too much bone damage like it can with a later diagnosis.' Unlike many cancers, myeloma won't manifest through a lump or tumour. According to Myeloma UK - the charity supporting people affected by the disease and funding research into treatments - the cancer can be difficult to detect as symptoms are often linked to general ageing or minor conditions. Instead, the cancer affects bone marrow - the spongy material found in the centre of larger bones - in the spine, skull, pelvis, rib cage, long bones of the arms and legs, as well as the shoulders and hips. A build-up of abnormal blood plasma cells in the bone marrow will release large amounts of an antibody called a paraprotein, and cause symptoms such as pain, fatigue, recurring infections and bone disease that causes bones to fracture more easily. Over a third of people with myeloma see a GP at least three times before getting a diagnosis, and around a quarter have to wait more than 10 months before they're diagnosed. Making the most of life Angela, retired retail assistant, eventually began chemotherapy in June 2020, 15 months after her diagnosis. The gran grappled with chemo side effects such as fatigue and a chance in taste. But seven months of treatment kept her cancer at bay. In July 2022, she had a stem cell transplant at Russell Hospital in Dudley, which involved removing stem cells from her body and having them transplanted back in after cancer cells were removed. This reduced Angela's cancer so it was almost untraceable. She says: 'With myeloma you know that it will keep coming back so you have to make the most of the time you have. 'After the stem cell transplant I was lucky to have almost a year without any treatment. "My husband and I did lots of walking, went on caravan holidays and of course made the most of the time with our sons and grandsons.' She became grateful for support from Myeloma UK, saying: 'The website had so much information about myeloma written in a way that was easy-to-understand and made it less scary. 'I used the forums to ask people questions about chemotherapy and it was reassuring to know I wasn't going through it alone.' In October 2023, Hill's cancer levels increased and she was put on a clinical trial called Excaliber, which consists of three drugs iberdomide, dexamethasone and daratumumab. She said: 'I am so happy to be on the trial. I have had some side effects like putting on weight, but if it keeps me living longer I can deal with that." Get checked Angela is now making the most of life, spending time with her husband Wallace, 73, as well as her sons and grandsons. She's now raising awareness of the signs of myeloma and urging people to be persistent in seeing their GP about unusual symptoms. She said: 'The one thing I want to get across is the importance of an early diagnosis as it means you could live a relatively normal life. 'My myeloma hasn't stopped us doing things – we go walking, lunch with friends and go to beautiful places in our caravan. I live a good life. 'But I want to encourage anyone with strange symptoms to be persistent with your GP. "If you have been feeling tired, have unexplained back or rib pain or unexplained weight loss, anything that is unusual, follow your gut and press to be taken seriously. 'And if you are diagnosed, know that there is loads of support out there from charities like Myeloma UK, whether that's getting the right information, having someone to talk to who knows what you are going through or simply knowing there is someone always in your corner fighting for research, treatments and awareness.'
