Docs said I had sciatica but it was blood cancer
Mum vows to hold on to see grandkids
A BRAVE mum was left devastated after doctors found her “sciatica” pain was actually a symptom of a deadly blood cancer which had hollowed out her bones.
Judith Green had suffered from back pain for 10 years but was repeatedly told it was likely due to a trapped nerve.
The 42-year-old’s agony became too much last year when she woke screaming in the middle of the night before repeatedly vomiting blood over the next two days.
She took herself to St John’s Hospital in Livingston where doctors made the shock diagnosis of myeloma cancer. The mum of two was told that the condition – which normally affects men over the age of 60 – was incurable.
The former waitress, from West Lothian, said: “I’ll never forget the look on my partner Steven’s face when the doctor said those words.” Doctors put Judith on chemotherapy and steroids before attempting to harvest some of her remaining bone marrow.
But a blood test in August revealed that the myeloma had returned, meaning she now has to undergo a second transplant from a mystery donor – and she is urging more people to register as stem cell donors.
She said: “The reason I wanted to speak out is to raise awareness of myeloma and stem cell donation.
“You really could be giving someone a second chance at life.
“I hope to be here long enough to see my grandkids.”