A mum says she is searching for a stem cell donor of her same ethnicity in her cancer fight.
Janice St Louis was diagnosed with leukaemia in January after suffering five weeks of flu symptoms.
The 56-year-old from London is of Grenadian heritage, and needs to find a stem cell donor from a similar background so her immune system can be restored.
The NHS is currently experiencing a shortage of stem cell, blood and organ donations from people of Black heritages, which is vital to help patients of the same ethnicity in order to provide the best genetic match.
Only 37% of patients from minority ethnic backgrounds receive the best match from an unrelated donor, according to the charity. In comparison, 72% of white patients find a suitable match.
Mum-of-two Janice was told she had acute myeloid leukaemia after visiting A&E with her flu symptoms, with doctors telling her she'd need a bone marrow transplant.
But two months later, Janice is yet to find a donor and has now joined forced with the Anthony Nolan foundation which encourages people of non-white ethnicities to become donors.
Janice, who has two daughters Chante and Tomika, is currently at Hammersmith Hospital.
"I have to focus on bigger things," she said. "My family, my friends, my life.
"I am a happy-go-lucky kind of person, and I am not going to let this get me down. I believe that keeping a positive outlook on things can help make you feel healthy."
"I’m going to do what I can for myself, but I want to do what I can for other people as well.
"Even after this experience, I am going to continue to raise awareness of leukaemia and the need for donors."
Anthony Nolan boss Henny Braund described Janice's drive to raise awareness and optimism as "inspiring", adding the charity was working hard to find her a match.
He added they "urgently" needed more people to sign up to the register, "particularly men aged between 16 to 30 especially if they are from a Black British Caribbean background".
"Joining the register takes minutes – simply complete a form on the website and you’ll be sent a swab in the post that you just need to return to Anthony Nolan."
The Traitors star and Anthony Nolan ambassador Dr Amos Ogunkoya said: "When it comes to stem cell treatments, being black or from a minority ethnic background can really affect your chances of finding the right match because of a lack of diversity across the registry.
"No-one should ever be told that a suitable donor cannot be found, simply because of their race.
"It is vital that people from minority ethnic backgrounds consider signing up to become potential stem cell donors, so that patients like Janice have a second chance at life."
You can find out more on how to help by visiting the charity's site here.
