A young paramedic died from a rare form of lung cancer - despite not even smoking. Meadhbh Cameron, 24, died on March 11, after being told two days before Christmas that she had weeks to live.
She married police officer Lee Cameron shortly before her death - the day after his 27th birthday. Meadhbh first noticed something was wrong in September when she coughed up a blood clot while in hospital as part of her job.
She had an intermittent nighttime cough but no other symptoms, but a scan revealed a shadow on her lung. Four weeks later, Meadhbh was told she had stage 4 combined small cell lung cancer, an extremely aggressive and rare form of cancer, not typically seen in a young, non-smoker in good health.
Meadhbh was given chemo but the cancer had spread to bones and lymph nodes. She married Lee at a ceremony carried out by Kenny Gray, a healthcare support worker who worked in the ward in the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre.
Lee is running the Loch Ness Marathon in October - as it was top of his wife's bucket list of things she hoped to do. Lee said: “She told me she had coughed up a blood clot while in hospital with a patient and that an x-ray had revealed a shadow in her left lung.
"This was totally out of the blue, as she had no other symptoms, other than an intermittent cough at night. The specialists advised us that Meadhbh's type of cancer was incurable, however it tended to respond well to chemotherapy.
"They informed us that with chemo Meadhbh would likely have a year to live if not more due to her age and health.”
Meadhbh received three rounds of chemotherapy but was hospitalised each time with neutropenia, a condition which results in a low number of white blood cells, neutrophils, in blood. Lee said: “On the third time she was hospitalised, we were informed that Meadhbh's treatment wasn't working and that the cancer in her spine was compressing her spinal cord.
"We were told that she had six to eight weeks to live, on December 23." Meadhbh passed away the day after Lee’s 27th birthday.
Lee added: “Despite the high levels of sedation she was under, Meadhbh still managed to wake up and hum 'Happy Birthday' to me. This was a true testament to Meadhbh's strength and character.
“In the end cancer robbed Meadhbh of everything but her compassion, humour and mental strength. Meadhbh was an incredibly caring and compassionate soul who had an outstanding passion for life.
"Her smile could brighten even the darkest of days and she was the life and soul of the party. Those traits are what made her an exceptional paramedic, a job that she absolutely loved.
"It gives me great honour in being able to call her my wife.”
Lee is fundraising for Beatson Cancer Charity, which supported the couple. He added: “The support they provided to my wife and I was second to none, especially with Meadhbh's prognosis, which unfortunately involved spending her last Christmas in hospital.
"The Teenage and Young Adult team arranged for Meadhbh to get a private room so I could stay with her and also provided festive food along with a host of other things, including psychological support.
“They even helped Meadhbh and I bring forward our wedding so we could still have our big day, which is something I am incredibly grateful for.
"Before passing, she had a bucket list of things she wanted to do and at the top was run a marathon.”
