Scots mum left with damaged kidney after cancer mistaken for menopause
Louise Greenbank felt pain in her rib alongside being incredibly fatigued in June 2021.
A mum-of-three was left with a broken rib and severe kidney damage after her incurable blood cancer was wrongly blamed on menopause.
Louise Greenbank, from Uddingston, began suffering from pain in her rib and felt incredibly fatigued in June 2021, but thought it was due to being worn out from running her family's convenience store during the pandemic, reports Glasgow Live.
The 49-year-old, who lives with husband Aaron and their kids, Pearce, 11, Farrah, 13, and Morrin, 17, was misdiagnosed twice, first with inflammation around her ribs and breastbone, she was then told her symptoms were menopause-related by her GP.
Two days after her 46th birthday - six months after the pain began - Louise was finally diagnosed with myeloma, an incurable blood cancer, in August 2021.
Louise was told how she had developed kidney failure, had a broken rib and holes in her hip, pelvis and lower back caused by the cancer. She said: "I would fall asleep when I came home from lunch, but I put it down to my age and to my workload.
'Then I started to have bad night sweats; I was drenched. Breathing became agony, the bone pain was really bad. It was like somebody was knocking on my bones from the inside. I had been to A&E and they had done tests but they had sent me home.
'Unbeknownst to me at the time, I had a broken rib. I had all the symptoms you read about, but of course, I'd never heard of myeloma. I never thought it could be cancer.'
Louise has now shared her story to raise awareness during Myeloma Awareness Week which runs from June 16 until June 22. She is fronting Myeloma UK's Know the Warning Signs campaign. which aims to help the public spot the signs before it is too late.
She believes her symptoms started as early as March 2021, when she was hit with a cold she couldn't shake. By June, she began feeling more and more exhausted and experiencing nagging pain in her rib which she out down to her hectic schedule, constant heavy lifting, and even suspected she had COVID at one point.
Louise's condition deteriorated and she was vomiting, sleeping constantly and struggled to get off the couch. She booked an appointment with her GP, who gave her painkillers, believing she had inflammation in her ribs.
However, as her symptoms got worse she had to give up going to the gym due to plummeting strength and energy. Louise had blood tests done, which showed she was anaemic. But her symptoms were put down to menopause.
'I got sicker and sicker, I was vomiting, not eating, sleeping all the time,' she said. 'I couldn't get off the couch.'
When Louise began slurring her words, her husband took her to the doctor, fearing a stroke.
'My mum and my husband thought I'd had a stroke,' she added. 'I was slurring my words and couldn't have a conversation. I was absolutely out of it.'
Now in remission, Louise recalls the shock of her diagnosis. She said: "At the beginning, you feel you've been handed a death sentence. The consultant at the Royal in Glasgow gave me a five-year prognosis, which they shouldn't have done, because it's a very individual cancer and you just don't know.
"I kept thinking, my wee boy is only seven, will I see him start high school? I was so unwell, my head was all over the place. I kept thinking about the impact on my children.
'But I'm quite a pragmatic, let's-get-this-done person. I thought, we need to turn this around. I think my three children were a Godsend. I didn't have time to stop and think about things, I had to be Mum. I had to pack lunches, the uniforms had to be washed and ironed. We tried to keep life as normal as possible. If you've got a positive mental attitude, it really stands you in a great stead to tackle the journey that you're on."
She continued: 'I can see why it's missed because it's tiny little things that could be a multitude of things that are wrong with you. But myeloma can strike at any age, any level of fitness or mobility. So trust your gut and keep pushing for answers. For me it's about raising awareness. My mum said to me, 'If you can help one person, you've done your job'.'
Despite still living with back pain and the many side effects of intensive treatment, she is determined to enjoy life and make memories with her kids. For the past three years, Louise and her family have also supported Myeloma UK's work and raised funds towards vital research into treatment and a cure.
She added: "'I have goals in my head of what I want to achieve before I relapse, all centred around my children, and that's what keeps me going. My attitude now is, don't put things off, life is for living. I'm thankful for every month I get and I feel like I have a lot left in me.'
Myeloma occurs in the bone marrow and currently affects over 2,300 in Scotland. It is the third most common type of blood cancer, yet it is frequently missed, as its symptoms, including back pain, easily broken bones, fatigue and recurring infection, are vague and often linked to general ageing or minor conditions.
During awareness week, Myeloma UK has launched a symptom guide to help patients communicate clearly with their GP and avoid missed diagnoses.
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Designed with the help of people living with myeloma and GPs, the handy guide, which can be downloaded at myeloma.org.uk/signs, lists examples of symptoms in patients' own words alongside the corresponding medical term for each.
Dr Sophie Castell, Chief Executive at blood cancer charity Myeloma UK, said: 'You wouldn't ignore a red light on the road or a caution sign on a freshly-mopped floor, so why ignore the warning signs that your body sends you?
' Myeloma has one of the longest times to diagnosis of any cancer. One of the biggest barriers remains identifying and piecing together the symptoms quickly and before too much damage is done.
'The most important thing you can do is get your symptoms checked. We know that myeloma can be difficult to diagnose, so bring the Myeloma UK Symptom Translator with you to the GP, ask for answers and get to the bottom of what's causing your pain, infections or fatigue.
'Know the warning signs, put your health first and help us catch myeloma earlier.'
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