Brave Greenock woman says stomach ulcer 'saved her life'

Emma Sinclair was hit with the bombshell that she had a chronic form of leukaemia on her 34th birthday in 2021.

Emma, a member of Glenpark Harriers running club, was superfit and enjoyed going to the gym and had completed the Kilmacolm 10k shortly before being diagnosed.

She said: "I feel lucky to be alive when I hear other people's stories.

"I thought I was going to die.

"I'm still here. I've got a second chance."

Emma told how she started to feel unwell during the pandemic with a viral infection. She thought it was Covid but kept testing negative.

She told the Telegraph: "One day I woke up feeling awful and started vomiting blood.

"I tried to rest but later that day I stood up from the sofa to go and get some water and collapsed.

“From there it was a bit of a blur.

"I just remember my mum phoning an ambulance and it seeming to take forever.

"I kept going in and out of consciousness and wanting to sleep.

"My mum phoned NHS 24 and she was trying to keep me awake as I had banged my head when I’d fallen.

"The ambulance took two hours to come and I was rushed to A&E at Inverclyde Royal Hospital where X-rays, scans and blood tests revealed I had a burst stomach ulcer.

"If it wasn't for the stomach ulcer I wouldn't have known about the cancer.

"That saved my life."

Emma, who lives in Dunlop Street with her parents, was blue-lighted to the critical care ward at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

She said: "When I was being transported in the ambulance I was given a blood transfusion and they told me that they had to do it slowly in case I had a stroke.

"I was so scared."

Emma who works in HR for a charity, spent more than two weeks undergoing surgeries to try to repair her ulcer.

Emma said: "I had a number of blood transfusions and a couple of life-saving surgeries.

"I'd wake up at 3am in the morning and my mum and dad would be there.

"I didn't know why they were there as I was so dazed."

Then she was hit with the devastating news that she had a rare and severe case of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML).

Emma said: "I didn't know anything about leukaemia.

"Looking back I had all the symptoms, night sweats, shortness of breath and fatigue but I thought it was a viral infection."

Emma spent time in critical care and once the internal bleeding was under control she was put on a chemotherapy cancer growth inhibitor.

The 36-year-old says her journey to recovery was a slow one and fraught with difficulties.

She said: "I was very sick with the tablets at the start and had fluid in my lungs which I think was caused by the stomach ulcer."

After five weeks Emma was allowed to go home and a series of fortnightly check-ups at Inverclyde Royal have been extended over the last two years to 12-weekly.

Emma formerly worked in HR at Ardgowan Hospice and has also received support there.

She said: “The whole experience has made me realise how precious life is.

"I know my body more now, when to rest it and what it can do and what it can’t.

"It’s also made me more aware of the signs and symptoms and my friends and family are also very aware of this now.”

Emma is determined to raise wider awareness and is supporting the Spot Leukaemia campaign to highlight the four most common symptoms – fatigue, repeat infections, unusual bleeding and unexplained bruising.

She said: "I'm part of a support group with patients all over the UK and we always say to each other, 'just live your life and make memories'. No-one knows what is around the corner.

"There is also a chance of getting secondary cancer because of a weakened immune system but I can't dwell on that.

"I just take every day as it comes."

*For more information about the campaign visit https://www.spotleukaemia.org.uk