September is also Blood Cancer Awareness Month. It also marks one year since father-of-four Jonathan Smith, from Hale, completed successful treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia – a type of blood cancer.
Now Jonathan is joining Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance to encourage people to make sure they recognise the signs and symptoms of blood cancer.
Jonathan, a keen cyclist, initially noticed something wasn’t quite right in January 2021 when he found himself getting tired more easily.
The technology consultant, now aged 52, said: “I’m a keen cyclist and usually cycle about 100 miles a week. Each year I tend to reduce my training in December and then hit it hard again in the New Year. I monitor how I’m progressing and last year I noticed I wasn’t getting any fitter – if anything I was getting worse!
“At first, I thought it was just because I needed to build up my fitness again, but I began finding it harder and harder and I felt really tired – like I could fall asleep at any time and was experiencing light headedness. Even walking the dog began to tire me out. I thought I might have covid and be asymptomatic, so I decided to rest for a few weeks, but then I started to get really sore gums.”
After visiting both his dentist and then his GP, Jonathan was referred to Manchester Royal Infirmary for further tests and discovered he had Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. AML is a type of blood cancer.
Jonathan said: “I stayed in hospital for the tests and as we were still in a lockdown, they asked me to get my wife on face time for a meeting with my consultant and that’s when I realised it wasn’t likely to be good news. But then they told me they had a treatment plan and hearing it was possible to be cured was enough for me at that point. It gave me something to hold on to. My way of coping was learning all about the illness and the treatment and if you want to know all about how it works then the staff are very good at letting you do that.”
Jonathan was treated with chemotherapy and took part in a clinical trial to test a new type of chemotherapy drug.
He said: “The care I’ve received has been amazing. My treatment all took place during covid so I couldn’t have any visitors and those conversations I had with the staff really made a difference. I also coped by watching TV, playing computer games, and building model aircrafts – something I’d not done since I was a child!”
After being given the all clear in September 2021, Jonathan has been enjoying life seeing his eldest son Joe graduate and his daughter Ev pass her A-levels. He’s also gradually building his fitness back up and hopes to take on The Cheshire Cat which is a 100-mile cycle including climbing Mow Cop one of the steepest hills in Cheshire in March next year.
He said: “My message to others would be if you are worried about symptoms that are out of the ordinary for you, you should get to the doctor and get checked out. I think we sometimes still view cancer as we did in the past and are scared of it. But technology and treatments have come on so much, particularly in blood cancer, and everyone’s prognosis is better if they get checked earlier. The vast majority of times it won’t be something as serious as cancer, but in event it is cancer then far, far more people are surviving or being cured. The chances of these things happening are far better if you go to your GP early.”
Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance says the public should take particular notice of persistent and unexplained symptoms which last for more than three weeks. Seek advice from your GP if you are concerned. For more information you can visit the NHS website.
Suzanne Roberts, who is Clinical Lead for Blood Cancers at Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, said: “Cancer treatments and research have come on leaps and bounds compared to what many people may have in their minds from say, 10 or 20 years ago.
“It’s very important to seek help as soon as possible if you think something is amiss. On many occasions this won’t turn out to be cancer, but we know that if a patient has symptoms that do turn out to be cancer, the earlier it’s diagnosed the better.”
Blood cancers affect the production and function of blood cells. There are three main groups – leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma and within these groups there are different types.
Symptoms of blood cancer can include:
skin looking pale or “washed out”
extreme, unexplained tiredness
breathlessness
having a high temperature, and feeling hot or shivery (fever)
sweating a lot to the extend you have to change your clothes
losing weight without trying
frequent infections
unusual and frequent bleeding, such as bleeding gums or nosebleeds
easily bruised skin
flat red or purple spots on the skin
bone and joint pain
a feeling of fullness or discomfort in your tummy
swollen glands in your neck, armpit or groin that may be sore when you touch them
