A nurse has shared the ‘tell-tale’ symptoms of an incurable disease she was diagnosed with.
Carol McGachie, 56, felt like ‘she had been plugged into the mains’ when she fell ill with an incurable disease.
She is now speaking out about the symptoms she ‘overlooked’, in the hopes that others can get checked out earlier.
After experiencing symptoms for some months, Carol, from West Lothian, thought she may have MS (multiple sclerosis), but it turned out to be something worse.
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Talking to the Daily Record about how she had suffered for a while, she said: "I was exhausted all the time. I used to regularly bake and cook, I loved gardening. I would walk our dog for miles - but I just didn't have the energy for it anymore."
“I declined invites to social occasions because I knew I would suffer the next day.”
Working in the medical sphere, she thought she may have seen the signs sooner, and wants to spread awareness before it is ‘too late’ for someone else.
Carol was diagnosed with incurable blood cancer - also known as myeloma, claiming it's a form of cancer GPs generally don’t know a lot about.
She had been aware of myeloma, but didn't know what it was or its impact.
Some of the symptoms she experienced included back and neck pain, not being able to sleep, and a tingling sensation in the tips of her fingers and toes.
She added: “I would not have associated back pain with blood cancer. That’s why awareness is so important.
"Now I try to raise awareness through work and I’ve told some of my patients about my diagnosis and symptoms. I think I left it too long and tried to manage the pain myself."
Carol said that finally getting her diagnosis was a relief: “I felt relief that I wasn’t going mad and that there was actually something wrong."
However, she added: "But it was also hard because it was not something they could cut away. You hear the word ‘incurable’ and you know it’s a cancer that’s going to be with you forever."
According to Myeloma UK, around 5,900 people are diagnosed with myeloma in this country every year.
However, one in four people wait more than 10 months for a diagnosis.
Carol has now begun chemotherapy and said she is 'more determined than ever to live a full life'.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
Mia Williams