'Doctors thought my back pain was a trapped nerve - I've had cancer three times'

Katherine Murrell is conscionable 27 but has been diagnosed with crab an astonishing 3 times.

A pistillate whose symptoms were initially dismissed arsenic a trapped nervus went connected to beryllium diagnosed with crab 3 times. Katherine Murrell, 27, recalled however her bonzer acquisition besides led to her chosen vocation successful the ambulance service.

Katherine, from Tunbridge Wells successful Kent, archetypal experienced backmost symptom astatine the property of 16. Doctors primitively thought this was thing to interest about.

However, pursuing drastic value loss, she was referred for humor tests and aboriginal to the haematology team. Then, astatine a clip erstwhile she should person lone been worrying astir her GCSEs, her full beingness was turned upside down.

Katherine was diagnosed with signifier 4 lymphoma – a benignant of humor crab which affects the immune system. She underwent six months of gruelling regular chemotherapy and past a period of radiotherapy astatine the Royal Marsden Hospital successful London.

She was fixed the all-clear and had regular check-ups with her doctors to guarantee the crab had not returned. However, 7 years later, she noticed a swollen lymph node successful her cervix and began to interest the crab had returned.

By this time, she had started moving astatine London Ambulance Service and was grooming to go an exigency aesculapian technician (EMT). The results of a biopsy came the time earlier her graduation and showed the lymph nodes and her thyroid were cancerous and would person to beryllium surgically removed.

After the operation, she was erstwhile again fixed the all-clear, but a twelvemonth later, a mates of her lymph nodes were recovered to beryllium connected the borderline of being pre-cancerous and were removed utilizing keyhole surgery.

She said: “When I was training, I was petrified due to the fact that I suspected I had thyroid crab and wondered if I could inactive enactment astatine the service, arsenic good arsenic wondering if I was going to beryllium alright. Then the bosom crab came on and that truly tested me.”

Since Katherine, who present lives successful Great Dunmow successful Essex, had received radiotherapy truthful young that she was astatine hazard of secondary cancers, including bosom cancer. To minimise this risk, she decided to person a treble mastectomy.

As Katherine prepared for this, a insubstantial illustration revealed a precise tiny tumour successful her breast. She was diagnosed with crab for a 3rd time.

Despite each of the challenges, she credits her crab with giving her the thrust to assistance the NHS, which has present saved her beingness 3 times. Katherine said: “I’ve present spent 11 years going to regular infirmary appointments clip and clip again and erstwhile you get that utilized to it, you privation to springiness thing backmost – that’s my mentality I suppose.”

Now she is thriving successful her relation and has immense aspirations for her clip successful the service. She said: “Months connected from those diagnoses and with an each clear, it has not impacted my vocation astatine all. If anything, it’s enhanced it. It has made maine acutely alert of my abilities, my empathy and compassion – it’s fixed maine that skill.

“I present usage it arsenic a superpower and I’d counsel anyone going done a akin concern to effort to bash the same. I cognize it’s not easy, but I tried to spot the bully successful the bad, the learnings successful those struggles.”

She added that her involvement successful paramedicine was archetypal sparked aft she was rushed to infirmary successful her precocious teens by ambulance owed to a complication of her cancer. “The unit were truthful incredible,” Katherine said.

“When we got to the hospital, that’s erstwhile it truly deed maine that the medic unit was astonishing and however chill it would beryllium to bash thing similar that. They got to maine truly rapidly and past gave maine precisely what I needed.

“I present cognize that was conscionable successful a day’s enactment for them, but the attraction they gave has truly stuck with me.” Luckily, Katherine has been cancer-free since the extremity of 2023.