A teenager shared the six symptoms she experienced before she was diagnosed with leukaemia.
Leukaemia is a cancer of the blood cells. In people with leukaemia, the body makes abnormal blood cells which behave differently to regular blood cells.
There are different types of leukaemia, depending on the type of blood cell affected and whether the leukaemia is acute, which means it’s faster growing, or chronic, and it’s slower growing. The NHS states “each type of leukaemia has its own characteristics and treatment”.
The Teenage Cancer Trust advises: “There are lots of different signs and symptoms of cancer. It’s important to remember that having any of them doesn’t necessarily mean you have cancer but it’s important to get anything you’re worried about checked out.”
On its TikTok page, the Teenage Cancer Trust shared a carousel of images of patient Emily, who listed the symptoms she experienced before being diagnosed with the cancer. The caption reads: “Emily shares the symptoms she experienced before her leukaemia diagnosis.”
The first image shows Emily with text displaying the symptoms written around her. The six symptoms she experienced were:
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Lots of bruises
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Headaches
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Tiny red spots
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Nausea
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Tiredness
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Shortness of breath
The second image is the same, but the written text differs. It advises having any of these symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean you have cancer, but it’s important to see a GP if you notice anything concerning or you’re worried about any symptoms.
People shared their experiences in the comments section. One person said: “I’ve had leukaemia since I was 14, I’m now 32. Sorry to have to meet you like this, wish you well on your journey.”
Another, recently diagnosed, added: “I’m recently diagnosed leukaemia (23) I had tiredness, headaches and extreme pain in my legs, elbows, basically all my bones.”
In a similar Reddit thread discussing symptoms, one person said: “Bruises everywhere and popping up randomly, some were tiny, some took up large areas. Then dizziness from walking, or moving too fast and I would get this whooshing sound in my ears when I would lay down.
“Neither of these things really led me to believe it was cancer. Finally after dealing with that for two and a half months, my eyesight in my right eye went a bit blurry. I went to the eye doctor and he saw blood pooling behind my eyes, he sent me for blood work that day, and that night after my blood results came back, the local hospital called and said I needed to get there ASAP”.
Another commented: “Endless fatigue, I cycled 6,000 miles in 2017 and 2018 couldn’t cycle more than a few hundred.”
Someone else added: “I had fatigue but chalked it up to laziness. Would have sleeps in the winter where I would wake looking as if I was in the sauna. Also, a random burst of shooting pain on one side [of] my butt/hip.”