A brave West Lothian woman has spoken of being diagnosed with a rare form of terminal cancer after seemingly suffering little to no red flag symptoms.
Alanna Aitken, from Livingston, was told that she had stage four terminal bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma) in May 2021.
The rare type of cancer is very uncommon in those under the age of 70 and Alanna is hoping that by sharing her story she will be able to help raise awareness of the condition.
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The 30-year-old says that she began suffering from tiredness and migraines but after having blood tests taken by her GP in May, she was told that everything was fine.
However she later became breathless at work and was taken to A and E where she was given the devastating news that she was suffering from cancer.
“I was diagnosed on May 19 2021. I did not have many symptoms but I was chronically fatigued and was tired all the time”, she said.
“I thought it was a case of running a busy dance school and burning myself out. I suffered from migraines and went to the GP to get blood tests carried out.
“They told me that everything was fine but then at work I was breathless and was taken to A and E where I was told I had cancer. It was very sudden and happened all in one day - there was no cough or obvious symptom.”
Alanna, who lives with her partner Nicola Walsh, 34, with whom she has been with for five years, runs AJ Dance Centre with hundreds of students in Falkirk.
She says that cholangiocarcinoma is a rare form of cancer and says that she believes she is the only person in Scotland under the age of 70 with the diagnosis.
Alanna added that those who are given the diagnosis tend to only have two to five years to live but that she has not wanted to know her own prognosis so that she can live in the moment with those close to her.
“It is not really seen in people under the age of 70 and it is quite rare, so I want to get the word out to help raise awareness”, she added.
“It can impact both male and females. At the moment I am the only one being treated for this form of cancer at the Western General under the age of 70.
“When I was diagnosed it was in the hype of covid and I was on my own. I did not have anyone around me and had to go into hospital by myself.
“There were only four nurses who came round and pulled a curtain round to tell me I had cancer. I had no family there and had to call my mum and partner to come and get me.
“It was a terrifying time.
“My next steps were to go onto chemotherapy and I did a couple rounds of that but the tumours still grew.
“The next step was a new treatment which was an oral tablet that I could take at home. I managed to stay on that for 9-10 months.
“But I’m now off that treatment as it showed growth again. I was then put on another treatment in Manchester and it was difficult travelling back and forth twice a week to get this.
“I did that for four months and that failed as well. Now I’m on the last treatment possible that is available at the Western and have been doing this for the past four weeks.
“At the moment they are saying the treatment is keeping things at bay but if I came off the treatment then it would be a quick decline.
“I’ve never wanted the prognosis as I feel it would be like an advent calendar where I just count down the days.
“I would rather live in the moment and pretend it is not happening whilst I do as much as I can with friends and family.
“Hopefully I can get awareness out on this type of cancer as not a lot of people have heard about it.”
Alanna has continued to work at her dance school undertaking a more admin focused role and has recently fundraised over £4,000 for a mobility scooter to help with her mobility.
She has said that she will use the surplus from generous donations to help support the AMMF charity that raises awareness of the condition.
On her advice for anyone feeling as though something is not right with their health, she said: “Listen to your own body and you are not over tired for no reason.
“If you have stomach pain then go and get it checked out and please ask for your calcium levels to be checked by a doctor if something does not feel right.”
To learn more about cholangiocarcinoma please visit the AMMF wesbite here.
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