'I was over the moon to lose 22lb - until I found out the reason'

Edita Jucaite was delighted astatine first, but it aboriginal became evident that determination was a sinister crushed down her value loss

Dental caregiver Edita Jucaite was implicit the satellite to observe she was shedding pounds without ramping up her workout routine. It was aboriginal 2023 and she was looking guardant to a imagination holiday.

Edita, 36, believed her hectic enactment and societal docket were people sculpting her fig successful mentation for her seaside getaway - until a harrowing diagnosis turned her world connected its head.

"I mislaid astir 10 kilos (22lbs) successful 2 oregon 3 months, rather rapidly and without adjacent trying," said the Banbury-based wellness worker. "At that time, I was going retired a batch to devour and having takeaways. So I thought, ‘This is rather good’. I was blessed that I was losing value due to the fact that I was astir to spell to Mauritius with my partner. I was like, ‘Yeah! ’"

Little did Edita know, her slimming silhouette was concealing a superior wellness concern. It wasn't until aft undergoing a cosmetic process that she began to fishy thing mightiness beryllium amiss.

She said: “At the extremity of April past year, I had articulator filler, which severely bruised astir immediately. I realised I had been bruising much easy for 2 oregon 3 months earlier I had the articulator filler. The doctor who gave maine the articulator filler benignant of enactment it each together, the losing value and bruising, but I deliberation she was frightened to accidental excessively overmuch to me. She pushed maine to spell to person a afloat humor test.”

A caller canvass by YouGov connected behalf of Leukaemia Care and Leukaemia UK recovered that conscionable 14% of the UK big colonisation are alert of the 4 main symptoms of leukaemia, which are antithetic bleeding, fatigue, repeated infections and, similar Edita’s case, antithetic bruising. Thanks to the encouragement from her enactment friend, Edita booked herself successful to spot her GP, but adjacent then, was not expecting to beryllium told she had a signifier of humor cancer.

“I did Google earlier I went to the GP the symptoms of losing value and bruising and it did travel up arsenic leukaemia, but I conscionable brushed it off. I was like, ‘No, it’s not possible’,” she recalled. “Even erstwhile I went to the GP and asked for humor tests, I joked with him, ‘Google is saying that I person leukaemia, but that's impossible!’ But that aforesaid time I recovered retired that it was really leukaemia.”

In the UK, 27 radical are diagnosed with leukaemia each time – and tragically astir fractional of those volition not past beyond 5 years. Edita was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) – a signifier of humor crab which tin make dilatory and affects myeloid cells, which are a benignant of achromatic humor cell. Unexplained value nonaccomplishment is 1 of the imaginable symptoms of the disease, on with the 4 much communal symptoms of leukaemia, including bleeding, bruising, fatigue, and repeated infections. Looking pale, nighttime sweats and bony symptom are besides listed arsenic imaginable symptoms of galore types of leukaemia.

“I had the humor trial successful the morning, and by 3 o'clock successful the afternoon, the GP was calling maine to archer maine the devastating news,” Edita said. “I burst into tears. And convey God I was not acold from work. One of my colleagues saw maine crying, truthful she came and comforted me. If I would person been by myself? I don't know. It's conscionable a daze erstwhile idiosyncratic tells you thing similar that and you don't expect it.”

Edita was prescribed chemotherapy tablets, which she started to instrumentality immediately. She was near feeling nauseous and highly bushed and mislaid different 2 kilos successful a week portion connected the medication. However, further humor tests showed she responded good to this attraction and her achromatic humor compartment number soon stabilised. Within a week, she was capable to alteration attraction to the targeted crab cause Imatinib, which acts arsenic a crab maturation blocker and requires humor tests each 3 months, to show her condition.

“I volition person to beryllium connected this (Imatinib) for life,” Edita said – and reflected connected the nerves she feels each clip a check-up is due. “I inactive get a spot anxious erstwhile I person the assignment with the consultant, conscionable successful lawsuit thing goes wrong, what the results are… But it's been bully truthful acold

“I person immoderate atrocious days thinking, ‘Why did it hap to me?’ and, ‘Why bash I person to instrumentality the tablet?’ At the moment, I'm good and everything is nether control, but wrong five, 10, years, you ne'er know. Maybe (Imatinib) volition support the Leukaemia nether control, you conscionable person to instrumentality 1 time astatine a clip and enactment positive.”

Edita was supported done her ordeal by her partner, Paulius. And portion the mates were disappointed to cancel their travel to Mauritius aft the diagnosis, they did yet spell determination to unwind successful September past twelvemonth aft Edita had completed her treatment.

Now the dental caregiver hopes to assistance rise consciousness astir the aboriginal signs of leukaemia to assistance others get the attraction they request arsenic rapidly arsenic possible. She said: “If you're losing value for nary crushed oregon noticing bruising, publication an assignment with your GP and inquire for a afloat humor number trial arsenic soon arsenic you tin – to either corroborate oregon regularisation retired immoderate concerns.”

For much accusation connected leukaemia, including the signs and symptoms, sojourn www.leukaemiauk.org.uk For assistance and enactment pursuing a diagnosis interaction Leukaemia Care www.leukaeamiacare.org.uk