I was days away from being paralysed after blaming back pain on being pregnant – a killer disease was eating my spine
RED FLAG I was days away from being paralysed after blaming back pain on being pregnant – a killer disease was eating my spine
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SHEEMA Patel was just weeks into motherhood when agonising back pain left her screaming in the street.
Doctors told the now 42-year-old from Harlow, Essex it was sciatica, but the truth was far worse: an incurable disease was eating holes in her spine.
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Sheema Patel, now 42, developed back pain while pregnant with her son Mason
Credit: Family Handout / Myeloma UK
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Her symptoms left her in agony
Credit: Family Handout / Myeloma UK
By the time the disease was diagnosed as cancer, Sheema, who had just given birth to son Mason two months before, was told she was only three to four days away from being paralysed.
She tells Sun Health: 'I thought, I'm just too young. I've not had enough time with my son.
'The message that was delivered made me feel I only had weeks to live.'
Sheema, who works in HR, had first felt something was wrong when her back cracked while she was making her bed in April 2023, aged 40.
It immediately started to hurt, but she put the pain down to her pregnancy.
As the pain worsened, she went to the hospital, where she was given a low dose of morphine.
She says: 'My whole body went into a kind of spasm.
'But they couldn't do much because I was pregnant, so I decided to leave the hospital.'
After giving birth on July 30, her symptoms worsened. Three weeks later, she started experiencing severe leg pain.
At this point, her pain was dismissed as sciatica - an irritated nerve - and the discomfort of post-partum recovery.
What is myeloma?
Her GP prescribed codeine, and she tried acupuncture, but nothing helped.
Then one day in late September, she was forced to cut short a walk near her house.
'I was three houses down and screaming in pain,' she recalls.
'My husband had to carry me, push the baby and walk the dog home. It was really bad.'
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Scans revealed she had cancer that had left holes in her back
Credit: Family Handout / Myeloma UK
A few days later, in late September, Sheema saw a new GP at her practice.
The doctor suspected deep vein thrombosis, when a blood clot gets stuck in a vein, and sent her to A&E for more tests.
After a series of scans and some back and forth, Sheema was told in October that she had lesions - holes in her spine, ribs and sternum - caused by myeloma, an incurable blood cancer that occurs in the bone marrow.
The disease affects around 33,000 people in the UK.
'Don't ignore pain'
She says: 'I was an odd case because I wasn't over 60, or a man, and I didn't fit the criteria for myeloma.
'But nobody should go through so much pain. It took months to be diagnosed, as it was just put down to sciatic pain.'
She adds: 'My advice would be, don't ignore pain and keep pushing. Nothing was showing up in my bloods.
"Back pain shouldn't go on for months, even if you're pregnant or have a new baby.
"Ask for some X-rays or an MRI. You don't think you're going to get cancer at 40, but cancer doesn't discriminate.'
Dr Sophie Castell, chief executive at Myeloma UK, the blood cancer charity, says: '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.
"Myeloma symptoms, back pain, fatigue, infections, are often vague and can be mistaken for ageing or minor conditions."
This is partly because, unlike many cancers, myeloma doesn't form lumps or tumours.
Instead, it attacks the bone marrow, the spongy material inside bones such as the spine, pelvis, ribs, and long bones, causing lesions that weaken bones and can lead to fractures.
'I thought was going to die there and then'
Over a third of patients see their GP at least three times before diagnosis, and a quarter wait more than 10 months.
Sheema recalls her diagnosis: 'I was upset. It was like I was going to die there and then.
'They didn't explain anything. You just don't want to believe it. It didn't make sense.
'The only thing I kept thinking about was that I wanted to take my son to Disneyland.'
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Sheema is now in remission, though she knows the cancer is incurable
Credit: Family Handout / Myeloma UK
She sought a second opinion privately, where she was told the damage was so severe that any pressure could leave her paralysed.
'He confirmed that I needed to remain bedbound as any pressure to my spine was going to result in me being paralysed,' she says.
'It took a few days to process," she adds. "My mum had to move in with us because I wasn't able to do anything for my baby.
The 10 red flag symptoms of myeloma
Myeloma is an incurable blood cancer that occurs in the bone marrow.
Despite being the third most common type of blood cancer, myeloma is difficult to detect as symptoms are often linked to general ageing or minor conditions.
While it is incurable, myeloma is treatable in the majority of cases.
Treatment can lead to periods of remission but the cancer will inevitably come back.
Symptoms of myeloma: Persistent or unexplained pain for more than four to six weeks, particularly in the back or ribs Tiredness that doesn't improve with rest (fatigue) Frequent or hard-to-clear infections Easily broken bones or unexpected fractures Experiencing either frequent urination or minimal to no urination Swollen legs or abdomen Nosebleeds or unexplained bleeding or bruising Unexplained weight loss Numbness in the feet, hands, or legs Unexplained shortness of breath
Source: Myeloma UK
'I couldn't even carry him. It was awful.'
In March 2024, following her fourth round of chemotherapy, one of Sheema's spinal discs collapsed.
Living with incurable cancer
She required urgent surgery to stabilise her back, and in May, she underwent a stem cell transplant.
She says: 'It was difficult.
'I feel like I missed out on the experience of being a new mum.
"My son became very close to my mum because I wasn't able to carry him or care for him as I wanted to.
'But we've become much closer now, and we share a strong bond. I do everything I can for him now, taking him to soft play, to the zoo, and more.'
Sheema is now in remission, though she knows the cancer is incurable.
She adds: 'I know myeloma isn't curable and that it will likely return, but I'm a positive person.
'I'm focused on moving forward, going on holidays, taking my son to Disneyland when he's three or four, and building lasting memories. I'm incredibly fortunate to have such a supportive family.
'Mason and my husband are what keep me going.'
If you're worried you might have myeloma, it can be hard to explain vague symptoms in a way that gets taken seriously.
To help with this, Myeloma UK has created a simple Symptom Translator, a downloadable guide that puts common symptoms into medical language your GP will understand.
To find out more about Myeloma UK, visit myeloma.org.u
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