A brave woman has opened up about being diagnosed with leukaemia. Rhianna McKenna says initially doctors prescribed her antibiotics for tonsillitis before being told she had cancer.
The 28-year-old first suspected something wasn't right when she began feeling breathless and dizzy one Saturday. Later that evening her glands started to swell and she noticed several bruises across her body, but she put it down to feeling worn out and decided to get some rest.
She rested up all weekend but come Monday her condition hadn't changed. Her worried partner, who was working away from home for five days, urged her parents to call the GP.
Rhianna said: "They (doctors) prescribed me antibiotics for tonsillitis. I was stuck in bed, I had zero energy and felt awful. When I woke up on Wednesday morning, I realised I had clots in my gums, so I called my dentist and they prescribed me antibiotics for a gum infection. I was taking antibiotics, but I was getting worse.
"I was so confused, scared and worried. I told myself to let the antibiotics kick in and I would soon be feeling brighter. Then it got worse = my sight started to go in my left eye, things were blurry, and I didn’t know what was going on. My parents had been ‘nagging’ me to call 111 but I was so scared about what might be wrong with me that I begged them not to call."
Then one Friday Rhianna's life changed forever. She was rushed to hospital after collapsing in her home. She said: "Next thing I knew I was in A&E and they were trying to take my blood but it was just clotting. I must have fallen asleep because next I was woken by a hematology doctor who then said: 'Rhianna, I am really sorry, but I have to tell you—you have acute promyelocytic leukaemia. You are very sick, and it is important we get you better very quickly.'
"My heart broke. I was alone, in a room with nobody to help me process this information. I had to call my parents and tell them and then I had to call my partner and tell him. My heart was hurting so much, my brain was so confused."
She was rushed into the Intensive Care Unit at St Thomas' Hospital in London for urgent treatment and her parents were told the next few days were crucial. The doctors had to get her white blood cells down, or she would only have a few days left to live. She said: "Day by day my white cell count began to drop and eventually I came off the ventilator and that was the start of my recovery journey. I was moved to Guy’s Cancer Centre, where I spent four weeks.
"I began taking ATRA and had to have daily blood transfusions or platelet transfusions. My mouth was covered in ulcers and sores and for the first two weeks I was living off yoghurts and jellies as they were soft. My hair also began to fall out in clumps and I was devastated. I remember asking the nurse to just cut it all off to save the heartache of watching it fall out every time I showered.
"I lost all my independence—I needed help going to the toilet, washing, getting dressed, eating. My eyesight was still bad—I was told I had clotting and hemorrhages behind my eyes from the leukaemia."
Due to Covid Rhianna wasn't allowed any visitors but the hospital allowed her partner and mum to visit her for 30 minutes on alternate days. When she was finally allowed to go back home, it took her a while to adjust. She began having chemo twice a week as an outpatient. "At the end of my first consolidation cycle, I had my bone marrow biopsy.
"I was so nervous and worried about having this, but I knew I needed to have it to find out if the leukaemia was still in my blood. Then it was such a long wait for the results, it felt like forever. I started cycle two, five days as an inpatient having arsenic every day for five days. My body really struggled with it; I was having a lot more side effects this time around. I had headaches, sickness, extreme exhaustion, joint aches. But I managed it!
And then I was told my bone marrow biopsy results were back… It was clear! No visual signs of leukaemia. I was so overwhelmed. It had been a tough couple of months, but it was all worth it because the treatment had worked," she said. Her eyesight has improved but there is some permanent damage and she will never regain her full eyesight. "The NHS has been amazing; they saved my life and I will be forever grateful.
"We are so lucky to have such an amazing health service. My family, partner and friends have been my support system who have made this journey so far a little easier. I love them so much and I could not have done it without them. I finished all the treatment 19 months ago. Since then I have got married to my amazing partner Aidan in September 2021. We had the most amazing wedding day."
In November 2021, the couple found out they were pregnant, and Rhianna gave birth to Olivia the folloing July. The couple were delighted by the arrival of their daughter after initally being told it would be difficult for Rhianna to conceive due to her chemo.
Are you experiencing symptoms like Rhianna’s? The most common symptoms of leukaemia are fatigue, bleeding and bruising, repeated infections, fever or night sweats, bone or joint pain and shortness of breath. If you have any of these symptoms, contact your GP and ask for a blood test. To find out more visit spotleukaemia.org.uk
