'I thought my symptoms were a bad cold but it was aggressive cancer'

'I thought my symptoms were a bad cold but it was aggressive cancer' Ashley Grey, 59, collapsed when he got to hospital A grandad who thought he just had a "bad cold" when he felt unwell and couldn't stop shaking was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Ashley Grey, 59, started to feel unwell in December 2022 and by Christmas he had a fever and was shaking, so his wife called 111 and he was sent to Northern General Hospital. Tests showed his blood counts were "on the floor" and he was taken to the Royal Hallamshire Hospital where he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia on New Year's Day 2023 - after a bone marrow biospy. Ashley went through months of chemotherapy and on May 16, 2023, underwent a stem cell transplant and is now in recovery. Ashley, a patient transport worker from Hillsborough, Sheffield, said: “I thought I’d just had a bad cold, and I’d even carried on working. Whilst I was at home, I started a fever and was shaking, so my wife called 111. It was Christmas week, and the walk-in was shut, so we were sent to A&E. When I got there, I collapsed, and tests showed all my healthy blood counts were on the floor. I had absolutely no idea.” At Royal Hallamshire Hospital, he received blood transfusions and his diagnosis of acute myeloid leukaemia was confirmed. H e then underwent several rounds of gruelling chemotherapy, losing his hair, and remaining as an inpatient for seven weeks before being given the all-clear to continue his treatment after discharge. Thanks to the generosity of a stranger, he received his life-saving stem cell transplant on the May 16, his daughter’s birthday. “I had side effects like sickness, diarrhoea and tiredness throughout my chemotherapy, and a nasty rash during my transplant, and I lost all my hair which affected me much more than I thought it would," Ashley said. "But the haematology team were superstars, and I had so much gratitude, and that’s when I decided I wanted to do something more worthwhile with my life.” A few months after his transplant, he was well enough to go back to work as a lorry driver on a part-time basis and it was here that he spotted a job as a non-emergency patient transport worker. He now helps transport disabled, elderly, sick or vulnerable people to and from outpatient clinics, day care centres and routine hospital admissions. Three years on, he remains cancer-free and continues to enjoy the job. Ashley said: “I really enjoy getting people home and talking to people. One of the best things was when I first went back up to the O2 day ward in my job rather than as a patient and I saw one of the nurses that treated me there. “To be there and to be better and doing something for others, it meant so much. Everybody and everyone in the hospital team have been absolutely brilliant. I can't thank them enough.” Around 3,100 people are diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in the UK every year. A stem cell transplant is often the only hope of a cure. Dr Alex Kanellopoulos, Consultant Haematologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Sheffield is a major centre for stem cell transplantation and everyone here is so proud of Ashley and all he has achieved following treatment. "Although treatments for acute myeloid leukaemia have remained largely unchanged for the last few decades, there have been significant breakthroughs in recent years, including genetic techniques which allow us to track DNA changes and patient-specific markers of the disease in the blood and bone marrow, improving outcomes. New maintenance therapies have also helped to lower the risk of relapse. “Our ambulatory care service also allows certain patients to receive a variety of treatments, including high-dose chemotherapy, without the need for an overnight hospital stay. This helps patients retain much-needed normality and independence during highly intensive treatments."