Sheffield ITU nurse, 30, shares subtle signs of disease after being diagnosed with rare blood cancer

When an intensive treatment unit (ITU) nurse from Sheffield started feeling tired and run down, she put it down to her long working hours and her busy life as the mum of a toddler. But it turned out she had a rare form of leukaemia.

This September, 30-year-old Elena Gratton is supporting Leukaemia Care in its mission to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of the disease after she was diagnosed with plasma cell leukaemia (PCL), a rare and aggressive variant of multiple myeloma.

Her symptoms began a couple of months before she went to her GP, first starting out with various infections and joint pain. She said: “One week it would be my shoulder, the next it would be my hip. 

“I started to make excuses for my symptoms; as a night shift worker as an ITU nurse who then came home to an energetic two-year-old, it made sense as to why I was feeling so exhausted or why random bruising began to appear.”

But on the Saturday before her diagnosis, while on a walk with her husband, Ben, and her son, she found herself having to focus on putting one step in front of the other just to get to the end of the walk. 

Elena realised then that something was wrong. She booked a GP appointment where she had her bloods taken, and that same day after picking up her son, she was told she had leukaemia and that the local hospital was expecting her.

‘Paralysed by shock’

She said: “I parked up on my driveway and sat still, paralysed by shock. My husband arrived home and saw me still sitting in the car. I told him to pick up our son and I would tell him the news inside. I had no intention of telling him outside, with what felt like an audience of passing pedestrians.

“I cried and hugged him tight as I delivered the devastating news. And then, with a snap of the fingers, we went into organisation mode so I could get to the hospital as soon as possible.”

On admittance at the hospital, Elena had a bone marrow biopsy which later confirmed an official diagnosis of PCL. Her treatment included chemotherapy and steroids, and on her second round of chemo, she began to lose her hair.

“I hated the thought of it falling out bit by bit so I asked my husband to bring clippers in,” she said. “Ben braved the first cut, right through the middle. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I think it was the hardest thing Ben has had to do, too.

“Shaving my head was me taking back the power, but it did also feel incredibly overwhelming. I did go on to get lots of compliments for my bald head, and I rocked it most of the time as turbans and wigs were just too uncomfortable.”

Elena had two stem cell transplants, thanks to a young male donor from Germany, and she went on to achieve full remission for 18 months before experiencing two relapses. 

“I am now on maintenance treatment and thankfully in remission,” she said. “I am grateful for all the support I have had around me, and I’m now working towards having this current chemotherapy stabilised.”

Knowing the signs and symptoms of leukaemia can be vital. If you have any of the symptoms contact your GP and ask for a blood test. For support after a leukaemia diagnosis, please visit https://www.leukaemiacare.org.uk/