My life was saved by a visit to give blood

Published on Thursday 3 March 2011 15:50

A BLOOD donor has told how a routine trip to donate saved her life after leading to the shock discovery that she had cancer.

Kitty Shaw, who lives in the West End, had been feeling "run down" prior to visiting the Blood Donor Centre on Lauriston Place just before Christmas 2008, but was convinced she was suffering from a virus.

A nurse at the centre, where Mrs Shaw regularly donates blood, took a sample as normal to check that her blood was suitable for donation.

However, the test showed that she was anaemic and as a result, Mrs Shaw wasn't allowed to donate.

"I was very surprised," she said. "I had been feeling a bit run down, but didn't imagine it was anything serious. When I was told I couldn't donate blood I knew I needed to find out why."

The 44-year-old went to her GP for a check-up before being referred to the haematology clinic at the Western General Hospital.

In February 2009, she was given the devastating news that she had chronic lymphocytic leukaemia - the most common type of chronic leukaemia.

• The Race for Life is on

Mrs Shaw, who is married and has three stepchildren, said: "I was shocked initially but it was almost in some ways a relief to know what it was. I still thought I probably just had a virus, but suddenly I was facing a very serious disease.

"The worst part of getting news like this is the feeling that your life is never going to be the same again, and it came completely out of the blue. But I knew I was in good hands. I immediately decided the disease was not going to get the better of me."

She added: "The consultant said it was treatable but not curable. She was very positive that they would treat it effectively but I had to accept that it's likely to come back."

Mrs Shaw started six months of chemotherapy in April 2009, during which she suffered "terrible exhaustion".

"The chemotherapy was hard going," Mrs Shaw said. "During my week of treatment each month and the week after, I was just a complete waste of space. My husband Nigel was a great support to me.

"I got very tired and lost some hair, but I knew it was attacking the cancer and my side-effects could have been a lot worse."

Mrs Shaw, a senior marketing manager at Standard Life, is now in remission and receives regular check-ups.

"I just want to make the most of the time I have got when I'm healthy," she said.

"The consultant said it's difficult to predict; I might get five years before it comes back, or I could be lucky and get more or unlucky and get less. It makes you want to make the most of the time you have got."

Mrs Shaw is now calling on women across the Lothians to join her in the Race for Life at Holyrood Park on June 19.