A mother of three who was initially told her fatigue was due to being a busy parent was later diagnosed with incurable blood cancer. Donna Hicks, 49, from Helensburgh, Argyll and Bute, was diagnosed with myeloma in September 2014 after experiencing persistent tiredness and back pain.
The former social work manager visited her GP when her youngest child was one, but was dismissed. She recalled: 'The GP was very dismissive. He looked at his watch a couple of times and said, "You're over 40, you work full-time, you've got three children including a baby and you're wondering why you're tired?"'
Myeloma is the third most common blood cancer in Scotland, affecting around 2,000 people. More than half of patients wait over five months for a diagnosis, and symptoms like back pain, fatigue, and recurring infections are often mistaken for ageing or minor conditions.
Donna saw a second GP who ordered a blood test, leading to her diagnosis. She underwent radiotherapy for spinal fractures, chemotherapy, and two stem cell transplants. Now in 'good partial remission', she praised her specialist Dr Richard Soutar at the Beatson in Glasgow.
'Life is never going to be the same again,' Donna said. 'There's a volcano inside me. At the moment it's dormant but at some point in the future it's probably going to erupt again.'
