Your health My best pal died from leukaemia.. then I got it

SECOND CHANCE Charlotte is looking forward to Christmas

EXCITED

On Christmas Eve 2013 Charlotte Tipping, 28, was diagnosed with leukaemia. This year she will celebrate with a baby and partner she thought she’d never have...

ALL is a cancer of the white blood cells. Normally they divide and grow in an orderly and controlled way, and help the body fight infection. But in leukaemia this process has gone out of control, so the cells keep dividing too quickly and don’t work properly.

These abnormal cells fill up the bone marrow and do not leave enough space to make all the healthy white cells, red cells and platelets our bodies need to survive. Without treatment it is fatal.

No one knows what causes ALL but research goes on all the time. Lifestyle is not a factor.

Symptoms may appear very quickly over a few weeks. Have them checked by a doctor. But remember they are common to many other illnesses. They include:

Looking very pale, feeling very tired or becoming breathless easily.

Feeling generally unwell and run-down, perhaps with a sore throat or mouth. Painful joints and bones.

Various infections one after the other. Unusual bleeding including bruising without any obvious cause, bleeding gums, frequent nosebleeds and heavy periods in women.

Frequent headaches.