A young mother from Norfolk was left devastated after discovering that what she believed was severe back pain from an old mattress was actually a symptom of an aggressive form of leukaemia.
Initial Symptoms and Misattribution
Gabrielle Altoft, a 32-year-old paralegal from King's Lynn, Norfolk, began experiencing what she described as "horrendous" lower back pain in November 2025. This coincided with swapping mattresses with her son, leading her to initially blame the discomfort on the memory foam bed.
"I started to get upper shoulder and neck pain and really horrendous lower back pain," Ms Altoft recalled. "I thought it was my mattress - we'd switched the beds round with my son and we'd changed the mattress so I just presumed that's what the problem was."
Medical Consultation and Dismissal
When the pain persisted despite purchasing a replacement mattress, Ms Altoft visited her GP. She was experiencing not only back pain but also extreme tiredness and shortness of breath. Despite these concerning symptoms, her doctor initially dismissed the pain as a simple injury and suggested physiotherapy referral.
Even after blood tests were conducted, medical professionals failed to identify the abnormalities when her white blood cell count returned low - a classic indicator of blood cancers including acute myeloid leukaemia.
Rapid Deterioration and Further Illness
The mother-of-three's condition continued to worsen dramatically. "I was in a lot of pain and I hadn't been able to walk the dog or anything," she said. During a visit to her mother's caravan later in November, she attempted to walk the dog but found herself "doubled over" in pain by the end of the walk, unable to move properly.
Soon after, Ms Altoft developed what she believed was a severe flu, spending five days in bed sleeping excessively. When she returned to her GP in distress, she was told her symptoms were merely viral.
The Devastating Diagnosis
The breakthrough came during a separate gynaecology appointment on December 16th, 2025, when Ms Altoft was referred for additional blood tests. The following day, she received an urgent call to attend A&E, where doctors delivered the shocking diagnosis: acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), an aggressive type of blood cancer.
"I was weirdly accepting when I received the diagnosis because I'd been so poorly I knew that something was wrong," Ms Altoft admitted. "I thought I was going to die because of how ill I felt."
Understanding Acute Myeloid Leukaemia
Acute myeloid leukaemia is a blood cancer that originates in young white blood cells. While more common in older adults, it affects approximately 4.2 adults per 100,000 in the United Kingdom. Symptoms often include general weakness, fatigue, fever, frequent infections, easy bruising, weight loss, and breathlessness.
The exact causes of AML remain unclear, though factors such as smoking, being overweight, drinking during pregnancy, and radiation exposure may increase risk. Chemotherapy serves as the primary treatment, with bone-marrow or stem-cell transplants sometimes required.
Immediate Treatment and Hospital Admission
Ms Altoft's diagnosis triggered immediate action. "The blood test was on the 16th, I was diagnosed the next day and by 11pm on the 18th I was admitted to hospital," she explained. She began intensive chemotherapy treatment on December 28th and faces a minimum of two rounds.
Maintaining normalcy for her three children proved challenging. "I went home and it was really strange - it was all really surreal, I pretended that nothing had happened in front of the children," she shared. "It was really tough."
A Call for Vigilance and Advocacy
Ms Altoft expressed disappointment about the delayed diagnosis, emphasizing that earlier scrutiny of her blood results in November might have revealed the abnormality sooner. She now urges others to trust their instincts and advocate for themselves medically.
"Just push and push if you feel like something is wrong, you know your body," she advised. "Whether you're 32 or you're 18, your symptoms should be taken seriously. With AML, you don't have long to have those symptoms looked at before your organs shut down."
Her experience highlights the importance of persistent medical advocacy and the potentially misleading nature of symptoms that might initially appear benign or attributable to everyday causes.
